The Active Society Revisited

Wilson Carey McWilliams was professor of political science at Rutgers University. He was the author and editor of a number of books including /Beyond the Politics of Disappointment?: American elections, 1980-1998/ and a regular contributor to several journals of opinion.

The Active Society, published in 1968, is the most ambitious book in Amitai Etzioni's remarkable career. In this new collection of essays, Wilson Carey McWilliams brings together scholars in a range of disciplines to analyze the significance and shortcomings of this important work.

1 Introduction 2 Macroscopic Action: On Amitai Etzioni's Contribution to Social Theory 3 The Cultural Dimensions ofThe Active Society 4 The Cybernetic Institutionalist 5 The Constitution of Activity: Etzioni's Foundation of Social Theory in Collective Action and Collective Actors 6 The Actively Drifting Society 7 Communitarianism, the Highest Stage of Progressivism:The Active Society Revisited 8 The Teamwork of Sisyphus: Post-Fordist Capitalism, Corporate Culture and Etzioni'sActive Society 9 Membership and Belonging: Etzioni's "Authenticity" and the Existential Challenges of Liberalism 10 Swing Low, Sweet Chariot: Transformation and Religious Tradition 11 The Eagle and the Worm:The Active Society from a Community Organizer's Perspective 12 Searching for Active Citizenship 13 Courting Megalogues: Judicial Power in The Active Society 14 Community Formation, Gender Issues and the Evolution of International Law: A Perspective on Amitai Etzioni's The Active Society 15 'Lighting Damp Logs': Social Movements, Liberal Democracy and the Politics of Transformation 16 From the Active Society to the Good Society: The Second Sailing of Amitai Etzioni 17 The Active Society Revisited: A Response