| Plurality and Progress: Modernity in Political Philosophy and Historical Sociology Contributor(s): Wagner, Peter (Author) |
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ISBN: 8787564203 ISBN-13: 9788787564205 Publisher: Aarhus University Press OUR PRICE: $14.25 Product Type: Paperback Published: December 2010 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Philosophy - Social Science | Sociology - General |
| Series: Summertalk |
| Physical Information: 0.3" H x 5.7" W x 8.3" (0.40 lbs) 101 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Europeans - or "Westerners" - have long been inclined to think that their form of socio-political organisation, often referred to as "modern", is superior to others in both normative and functional terms. In both political philosophy and comparative-historical sociology, however, this claim has recently been critically debated and re-assessed. After reviewing the recent debate, this volume addresses the following key questions: if there is now a plurality of forms of modern socio-political organisation, what does this entail for our time-honoured idea of progress, or in other words, for our hope that the future world can be better than the present one? And: if despite all nuance our concept of modernity is in some way inextricably tied to the history of Europe, how can we compare different forms of modernity in a 'symmetric', non-biased or non-Eurocentric way? These questions gain a particular sense of urgency in our era of so-called globalisation, of radical time-space compression, because the claims and expectations of modernity have now become inescapable in ever more walks of life and for many more people than ever. |