| A Functioning Society: Community, Society, and Polity in the Twentieth Century Contributor(s): F. Drucker, Peter (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 0765801590 ISBN-13: 9780765801593 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $171.00 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: November 2002 Annotation: Peter Drucker may be best known as a writer on business and management, but, in fact, these subjects are neither his first nor have they been his foremost intellectual concern. Drucker's primary concern has been community, in which the individual has status, and society, in which the individual has function. He has brought together selections from his vast writings on these subjects in A Functioning Society. This collection presents the full range of Drucker's thought on community, society, and the political structure, and constitutes an ideal introduction to his ideas. The volume is divided into seven themes. The selections in parts 1 and 2 were mostly written during World War II and in the wake of the Great Depression. They seek to define the functioning society in the modern industrial world from a historical perspective, and to identify institutions that could recreate community, the collapse of which produced totalitarianism in Europe. Part 3 deals with the limits of governmental competence in the social and economic realm. It contains some of Drucker's most influential writings, concerned with the difference between big government and effective government. The chapters in part 4 explore autonomous centers of power outside government and within society. These include business corporations, universities, unions, hospitals, and community organizations. Part 5 contains chapters from Drucker's pathbreaking work on the corporation as a social organization rather than merely an economic one. This was a controversial concept when he introduced it; today it is taken for granted. The rise of the so-called "knowledge industries" forms the background for part 6, in which Drucker exploresthe meaning of the shift from a society, economy, and polity based on manual work and skill to one based on knowledge and knowledge workers. The concluding part 7 is devoted entirely to Drucker's long essay "The Next Society." Drucker examines the emergence of new institutions and new theories arising from the information revolution and the social changes they are helping to bring about. In organizing these representative writings, Drucker has chosen to be topical rather than merely chronological, with each excerpt presenting a basic theme of his work. As is characteristic of his work, A Functioning Society will attract both the general reader as well as a cross-disciplinary scholarly readership. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Sociology - General - History | Social History - Political Science | Public Policy - Social Policy |
| Dewey: 301 |
| LCCN: 2002073265 |
| Physical Information: 1" H x 6.86" W x 8.82" (1.20 lbs) 266 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Peter F. Drucker may be best known as a writer on business and management, but these subjects were not his foremost intellectual concern. Drucker's primary concerns were community, in which the individual has status, and society, in which the individual has function. Here he has assembled selections from his vast writings on these subjects. This collection presents the full range of Drucker's thought on community, society, and political structure and constitutes an ideal introduction to his ideas. The volume is divided into seven parts. The selections in parts 1 and 2 were mostly written during World War Two and in the wake of the Great Depression. Part 3 deals with the limits of governmental competence in the social and economic realm. It contains some of Drucker's most influential writings concerned with the difference between big government and effective government. The chapters in part 4 explore autonomous centers of power outside government and within society. Part 5 contains chapters from Drucker's path-breaking work on the corporation as a social organization rather than merely an economic one. The rise of the so-called "knowledge industries" forms the background for part 6. The concluding part 7 is devoted entirely to Drucker's long essay "The Next Society." Drucker examines the emergence of new institutions and new theories arising from the information revolution and the social changes they are helping to bring about. In organizing these representative writings, Drucker chose to be topical rather than chronological, with each excerpt presenting a basic theme of his life's work. As is characteristic of his efforts, A Functioning Society appeals both the general reader as well as a cross-disciplinary scholarly readership. |
Contributor Bio(s): Drucker, Peter F.: - Peter F. Drucker (1909-2005) is known by many as the father of modern management. He was Clarke Professor of Social Science and Management at Claremont Graduate School in California and was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He is the author of over thirty-five books, including The Ecological Vision, The Concept of the Corporation, and A Functioning Society. |