Description
Book SynopsisThis leading sociologist brings his distinctive method of social criticism to bear on some of the most significant ideas, political and social events, and thinkers of the late twentieth century.
Trade Review"For almost fifty years, Wrong may well have been the single most consistent voice for good sense and moderation in both the fevered circles of the New York intelligentsia and the discipline of sociology. He brings to his analyses a unique combination of historical perspective and a temperamental inclination to cut through the hype. As a result, whether he is reconsidering past events or arguments (McCarthyism, Hannah Arendt's characterization of totalitarianism, David Riesman's The Lonely Crowd) or assessing current events and fads (rational choice theory, postmodernism, Allan Bloom's lament about the state of the 'American Mind'), Wrong invariably ends up providing a new, balanced perspective where none existed before." -Axel van den Berg,McGill University
Table of ContentsPart I. Concepts and Realities: 1. Disaggregating the idea of capitalism; 2. Is rational choice humanity's most distinctive trait?; 3. Hannah Adrendt on totalitarianism; 4. The concept of power: boundless or delimited?; 5. Myths of alienation; 6. The politics of left and right; 7. Cultural relativism as ideology; Part II. Intellectuals and Middle Classes: 8. The new class: does it exist? 9. Knowledge and power: intellectuals, Universities, and the class structure; 10. The influence of sociological ideas on American culture; 11. Professional jargon: is sociology the culprit? 12. The New York intellectuals and McCarthyism; 13. David Riesman: The Lonely Crowd revisited; 14. Daniel Bell: a specialist in generalizations; 15. Christopher Lasch: is progress a delusion? 16. Allan Bloom: the paperbacking of the American mind; Autobiographical coda; 17. 'As we grow older the world becomes stranger'; Notes; Bibliography; Sources.
