Looking Backward (ebook)

Argumento de Looking Backward (ebook)

When social reformers blame the current ills of Western culture on the loss of community, they often evoke an ideal past in which societies were characterized by shared values, respect for tradition, commitment to the common good, and similar attributes. Communitarians assert that community was prominent in the past, and argue that reclaiming the role community formerly played is necessary to counter the negative effects of individualism and liberal thinking. Considering the relevance of community for our moral and political life today, Derek Phillips offers the first thorough critique of the historical, often nostalgic, claims that underlie dominant versions of communitarian philosophy.

Originally published in 1993.

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"Looking Backward is an interesting, intelligent, well-informed, and extremely well-written book. Its importance lies in its effort to build a bridge between the contemporary historical scholarship and the wide-ranging and free-wheeling debates by philosophers and political theorists, and in its contribution to the heated debate about our 'usable'--and abusable--past."--Donald R. Kelley, Rutgers University

"[An] intelligent and lucid study. . . . Phillips argues that the societies of late eighteenth-century America and the high Middle Ages did not enjoy a common history and shared values, widespread political participation, or strong bonds of social solidarity. . . . The merits of Phillips's approach are substantial. He brings together not only political theory and history but also interesting perspectives from contemporary sociology."--Adam Swift, The Times Literary Supplement0Acknowledgments Introduction 3 Ch. 1 Uncovering the Communitarian Ideal 10 Ch. 2 Once upon a Time in America 24 Ch. 3 The Communitarian Ideal and the American Reality 61 Ch. 4 Life in the Middle Ages: An Overview 81 Ch. 5 The Communitarian Ideal and the Medieval Reality 105 Ch. 6 Community and the Good Life in Classical Athens 122 Ch. 7 Learning from History 149 Ch. 8 A Liberal Response to Communitarian Thought 175 Notes 197 Bibliography 227 Index 243