Modernization and Its Political Consequences
Subtitle: Weber, Mannheim, and Schumpeter
Contributors: Nancy Smyth Van Weesep (Translator)
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: November 15, 2006
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 278
ISBN-13: 9780300110814
Subjects: Social & political philosophy; Philosophy; Politics / Current Events; General; Political; Political Science / General; Political Process - General; Political science; Politics and culture
Description: "People's capacity to give meaning and direction to social life is an essential dimension of political freedom. Yet many citizens of Western democracies believe that this freedom has become quite restricted. They feel they are at the mercy of anonymous structures and processes over which they have little control, structures and processes that present them with options and realities they might not have chosen if they had any real choice. As a result, political interest declines and political cynicism flourishes." "The underlying cause of the powerlessness pervading the current political system could be modernization. Taking the work of Max Weber, Karl Mannheim, and Joseph Schumpeter as a point of departure, Hans Blokland here examines this process. The topics covered are, among others, the meaning of modernization, the forces that drive it, and, especially, the consequences of modernization for the political freedom of citizens to influence the course of their society via democratic politics."--Jacket.