Western society in transition
By: Volker Bornschier.
Publisher: Transaction
Published: 1996
Place of publication: New Brunswick, NJ
Language: eng
Number of pages: 453
Subjects: Social history -- 20th century.; Economic history -- 20th century.; Social change.
Description: Western Society in Transition examines the succession of societal models of the Western world and indications of its probable shape in the future. Bornschier characterizes the 1985-1995 period as a decade of Third World debt and depression; continued economic decline in the United States; a steady ascent of Japan; Western Europe's move toward political union; and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Against this background, he sketches various elements of a theoretical perspective he calls evolutionary conflict theory. The primary focus of interest of this theory is not on single societies, but on measures of social transformation at the core of world society. Western Society in Transition deals with fundamental questions: How does social order arise and why does it dissolve? What provides social cohesion? What makes society progress?

Institutional spheres of Western society such as technology, firms, the market, state building, education, power, conflict, and social movements are analyzed and detail.
Notes: Includes bibliography (p406-427) and indexes.