For Democracy - The Noble Character and Tragic Flaws of the Middle Class

These sociologists and theorists, long concerned with the critical role in society of the middle class, trace its historical, structural, and cultural links with democracy since ancient times. They show how the middle class has been instrumental in spawning industrialization and capitalism. They consider the rise and decline of fascism and communism and the development of multinational capitalism. They reflect upon the decline of the working class, the growth of an underclass, and the need today to counterbalance the power of the rich and big business. They ponder how to break an iron cage of bureaucracy and to revitalize democracy. This socio-historical analysis from a neo-Weberian perspective deals with issues that are central to sociologists, political theorists, and historians.

List of contents

Preface
Introduction: Capitalism, Democracy, and Class Balance
The Merchant Class and Democracy in Ancient Greece
From the Polis to the Nation-State
Industry and Democracy
High Technology Multinational Capitalism
Bibliography
Index

About the author

Ronald M. Glassman taught liberal studies at New York University and sociology at Connecticut College, William Paterson University, and the City University of New York. He has written extensively on democracy and the middle class.

Product details

• Authors: Ronald Glassman, Ronald M. Glassman, PETER KIVISTO, Kivisto Peter, William H. Jr. Swatos, Swatos William H.
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.09.1993
• EAN: 9780313279355
• ISBN: 978-0-313-27935-5
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / Democracy, POLITICAL SCIENCE / History & Theory, Political science & theory, Political structures: democracy, Social classes, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Social Classes & Economic Disparity, Political science and theory, Current Events and Issues: Society