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Modern societies currently lack positive alternative visions of the future. Many writers have claimed that the only option is a return to free-market capitalism, in which success and survival depend on being as competitive as possible whether as a nation, firm or individual.; Paul Hirst argues that there are viable alternative futures and widely applicable models that can be used to structure change. Hirst's distinctive approach to political theory reasons from real political problems rather than confining itself to abstract concepts.; Presenting an innovative political position, this collection of essays represents an attempt to re- state a practical third way between the discredited ideals of state socialism and laissez-faire capitalism.
List of contents
Chapter 1 Introduction; Part 1 Democracy and associative governance; Chapter 2 Associative democracy; Chapter 3 Associational democracy; Chapter 4 From statism to pluralism; Chapter 5 Democracy; Part 2 Democracy and civil society; Chapter 6 Quangos and democratic government; Chapter 7 Democracy and civil society; Chapter 8 Can the Conservatives reinvent civil society?; Chapter 9 Sidestepping the state; Part 3 Global pressures and democratic governance; Chapter 10 The state, civil society and the collapse of soviet communism; Chapter 11 Security challenges in postcommunist Europe; Chapter 12 Endism – Francis Fukuyama; Chapter 13 The myth of globalization; Chapter 14 The international origins of national sovereignty; Chapter 15 Why the national still matters;
About the author
Paul Hirst is Professor of Social Theory, at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of fourteen books including Pre-capitalist modes of production (1975, with Barry Hin dess), Marxism and historical uniting (1985), After Thatcherf (1989), Associative democracy (1993), and Globalization in question (1996, with Grahame Thompson). His work has been translated into German, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish.
Summary
Modern societies currently lack positive alternative visions of the future. Many writers have claimed that the only option is a return to free-market capitalism, in which success and survival depend on being as competitive as possible whether as a nation, firm or individual.; Paul Hirst argues that there are viable alternative futures and widely applicable models that can be used to structure change. Hirst's distinctive approach to political theory reasons from real political problems rather than confining itself to abstract concepts.; Presenting an innovative political position, this collection of essays represents an attempt to re- state a practical third way between the discredited ideals of state socialism and laissez-faire capitalism.
