The Essential Communitarian Reader

Communitarian thought has had a profound influence on contemporary American policy. Leaders as diverse as Al Gore and Jack Kemp have embraced it as the most powerful way of restoring America's communities and redeeming its political institutions. This comprehensive collection contains essays from the nation's most respected thinkers, including Mary Ann Glendon, Senator Bill Bradley, Jean Bethke Elshtain, and many others.

This outstanding new book shows why communitarian thought has had such a profound influence on contemporary American public policy, from strengthening our neighborhoods to fighting AIDS and educating our children. Edited by Amitai Etzioni, founder of the Communitarian Network and author of the best-selling books The Spirit of Community and The New Golden Rule, this comprehensive collection contains essays written by the nation's most respected thinkers. See why politicians as diverse as Vice President Al Gore and Jack Kemp view communitarian social philosophy as the most practical way of restoring America's communities and redeeming its political institutions.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 The Responsive Communitarian Platform: Rights and Responsibilities
Chapter 3
Chapter I. Communitarian Theory
Chapter 4 Foundations of Communitarian Liberalism
Chapter 5 Community Properly Understood: A Defense of Democratic Communitarianism
Chapter 6 The Limits of Libertarianism
Chapter 7 A Moral Reawakening Without Puritanism
Chapter 8 The Dangers of Soft Despotism
Chapter 9 Beyond Teledemocracy: America on the Line
Chapter 10 Social Justice: A Communitarian Perspective
Chapter 11 A Precarious Balance: Economic Opportunity, Civil Society and Political Liberty
Chapter 12
Chapter II. Rights and Responsibilities
Chapter 13 Rights and Responsibilities
Chapter 14 Absolute Rights: Property and Privacy
Chapter 15 Permissible Paternalism: In Defense of the Nanny State
Chapter 16 Finding a Place for Community in the First Amendment
Chapter 17 AIDS Prevention vs. Cultural Sensitivity
Chapter 18 A Gangsta's Rights
Chapter 19
Chapter III. Communitarian Policy
Chapter 20 A Liberal-Democratic Case for the Two-Parent Family
Chapter 21 Residential Community Associations: Community or Disunity?
Chapter 22 When Redistribution and Economic Growth Fail
Chapter 23 What Makes a Good Urban Park?
Chapter 24 The Loss of Public Space
Chapter 25 Rebuilding Urban Communities
Chapter 26 The Libertarian Conundrum: Why the Market Does Not Safeguard Civil Rights
Chapter 27 Drug Abuse Control Policy: Liberatarian, Authoritarian, Liberal, and Communitarian Perspectives
Chapter 28 Inner-City Crime: What the Federal Government Should Do
Chapter 29 A Mandate For Liberty: Requiring Education-Based Community Service
Chapter 30 Social Science Finds: Marriage Matters
Chapter 31
Chapter IV. The Community of Communities
Chapter 32 Democracy and the Politics of Difference
Chapter 33 Pluralism vs. Particularism in American Education
Chapter 34 Immigration and Political Community in the United States
Chapter 35 Who Killed Modern Manners?
Chapter 36 Index