Civil Society, Democracy, and Civic Renewal

by Robert K. Fullinwider (Editor), Benjamin R. Barber University of Maryland (Contribution by), Jean L. Cohen (Contribution by), David A. Crocker (Contribution by), Fredrick C. Harris (Contribution by)

Overview

Civil society is receiving renewed attention from academics, politicians, journalists, community leaders, and participants in the voluntary sector. Civil Society, Democracy, and Civic Renewal brings together several of America’s leading scholars—of history, sociology, political science, and philosophy—to explore the meaning of civil society, its positive and negative effects, its relation to government, and its contribution to democracy. The chapters range widely, taking up the connection between social trust and civic renewal, the role of citizen councils in environmental decisionmaking, the growth of self-help groups and their impact on community, historical patterns of civic activity by women and African Americans, and the place of expertise in public deliberation on scientific and medical issues. By examining the many disparate views of the civil society debate, this important volume will contribute to the process of civic renewal.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780847693559
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	05/13/1999
Pages:	442
Product dimensions:	6.38(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Robert K. Fullinwider is senior research scholar at the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, University of Maryland. His writings have spanned such topics as violence in war, professional codes of ethics, moral growth, and multicultural education. He is the author of The Reverse Discrimination Controversy (1980).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction Part 2 Part I: Civil Society—Idea and Actuality Chapter 3 Clansmen, Consumers, and Citizens: Three Takes on Civil Society Chapter 4 Making Civil Society Work: Democracy as a Problem of Civic Cooperation Chapter 5 American Civil Society Talk Part 6 Part II: Government and Civil Society Chapter 7 Is There Life Beyond the Great National Community? Chapter 8 Civic Infrastructure in America: The Interrelationship Between Government and Voluntary Associations Chapter 9 The View from Quincy Library: Civic Engagement in Environmental Problem-Solving Chapter 10 An Historical Model of Women's Voluntarism and the State, 1890-1920 Part 11 Part III: Trust and Civic Virtue Chapter 12 The Role of Trust in Civic Renewal Chapter 13 Self-Help Groups, Community, and Civil Society Chapter 14 The Moral Uses of Pluralism Chapter 15 Civil Enough: Toward a Liberal Theory of Vice (and Virtue) Part 16 Part IV: Religion and Race Chapter 17 Religion, Philanthropy, and Political Culture Chapter 18 Will the Circle Be Unbroken? The Erosion and Transformation of African American Civic Life Part 19 Part V: Public Deliberation Chapter 20 Beyond the Public Journalism Controversy Chapter 21 The Changing Role of Expertise in Public Deliberation Part 22 Part VI: International Civil Society Chapter 23 Civil Society and Transitional Justice Chapter 24 Democracy and Uncivil Societies: A Critique of Civil Society Determinism

Editorial Reviews

The empirical and theoretical studies will be of real value to political theorists and political sociologists working in the area of democratic institutions and social relations.

Political Studies Review - Elizabeth Frazer

The empirical and theoretical studies will be of real value to political theorists and political sociologists working in the area of democratic institutions and social relations.
— Elizabeth Frazer

Political Studies Review

The book will be of great value to everyone interested in the critical assessment of a wide array of issues associated with the current civil society debates.

E-Extreme

Seventeen essays, produced for the National Commission on Civic Renewal, written by members of the Commission's Working Group on Civil Society and the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy. The articles explore a number of issues raised by the American conception of civil society and its current manifestation. Specific discussions include treatments of the ramifications of church/state separation for the richness of civilian associations, social movements as hitherto unrecognized shapers of political opinion, and the connection between official political structures and the character of civil society institutions. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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