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The essays assembled in this volume are a thoughtful and lively commentary on Europe after the revolution of 1989. Must revolutions fail? Certainly, the open society has its own problems, not least that of citizens in search of meaning. The Good Society has to square the circle of prosperity, civility and liberty. Social science can help us understand what needs to be done, and intellectuals have a responsibility to initiate and accompany change. All this raises questions for Europe which extend far beyond the all too narrow confines of the European Union.
List of contents
Preface - OPENING WALLS - Must Revolutions Fail? - The Open Society and its Fears - Citizens in Search of Meaning - THE GOOD SOCIETY - The Good Society - Morality, Institutions and Civil Society - Why Excellence Matters - Prosperity, Civility and Liberty. Can We Square the Circle? - UNDERSTANDING CHANGE - The Democratic Revolution, or the Uses of the Science of Politics - Who Makes History? On the Entanglements of Economics and Politics - Whither Social Sciences? - The Public Responsibility of Intellectuals - BRITAIN, GERMANY AND EUROPE - Berlin for Example: From Zero Hour to Civil Society - Democracy in Germany: An Anglo-German Perspective - Europe, Unity and Diversity - From Europe to Europe. A Story of Hope, Trial and Error - Acknowledgements - Index
About the author
Lord Ralf Dahrendorf, geb. am 1. Mai 1929, gest. am 17. Juni 2009, lehrte Soziologie in Hamburg, Tübingen und Konstanz. Er war von 1987-97 Rektor des St. Antony's College und von 1991-97 Prorektor der Universität Oxford. Seit 1993 ist Ralf Dahrendorf als Baron of Clare Market in the City of Westminster Mitglied des britischen Oberhauses. Er gilt durch zahlreiche Veröffentlichungen als einer der wichtigsten Vertreter liberaler Gesellschafts- und Staatstheorie und hat als kritischer Intellektueller seine beiden 'Vaterländer' Deutschland und England geprägt.
Summary
The essays assembled in this volume are a thoughtful and lively commentary on Europe after the revolution of 1989. Certainly, the open society has its own problems, not least that of citizens in search of meaning. All this raises questions for Europe which extend far beyond the all too narrow confines of the European Union.
