The Chicago school: A liberal critique of capitalism (Contemporary social theory. Theoretical traditions in the social sciences)

The Chicago School of Sociology has sometimes been applauded for the originality and special insights of its practitioners as pioneers of a new professional discipline. By contrast, this book emphasises the rootedness of the Chicago School within a well-established tradition of American liberalism. Through a series of critical expositions of its leading writers ranging from Albion Small to Morris Janowitz, Dennis Smith argues that both the strengths and the weaknesses of Chicago Sociology have derived from tensions within and between American capitalism and American liberalism. The distinctive social and intellectual character of American liberal capitalism as expressed in Chicago Sociology is explored with reference to contemporaries in Chicago such as Veblen and Dewey and European movements such as the Frankfurt School. Front Matter....Pages i-x The Chicago Tradition and its Critics....Pages 1-28 Dimensions of Liberalism....Pages 29-56 Making America Work....Pages 57-74 Albion Small....Pages 75-91 W. I. Thomas....Pages 92-110 Robert Park....Pages 111-133 From Park to Parsons....Pages 134-152 Louis Wirth....Pages 153-166 William Ogburn....Pages 167-183 Morris Janowitz....Pages 184-210 Is Our Republic to Fail?....Pages 211-220 Back Matter....Pages 221-245 A history of the Chicago School focusing on the social theory of sociologists including Parsons, Small and Janowitz Dennis Smith. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 221-236) And Index.