The Sociology of Knowledge in a Time of Crisis: Challenging the Phantom of Liberty (Routledge Studies in Social and Political Thought)

"The speed of social dynamics has overtaken the speed of thought. Adopting a dialectical perspective towards reality, social theory has always detected faults in the dominant social pattern, foreseeing crises and outlining in advance the features of new social models. Thought has always moved faster than reality and its ruling models, ensuring a dynamic equilibrium during modernity. Despite any dramatic social crisis, theory has always provided exit routes. The tragedy of current crisis lies in the fact that its social implications are exasperated by the absence of alternative views. This book identifies the causes of this mismatch between thought and reality, and illustrates a way out"-- Provided by publisher Cover Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgments 1 Horizontality and Verticality: The Criss-Cross Alternation Law 2 The Self-Regulating Market and the Golden Age of Sociology (1815–1929) 3 The Golden Age of the State and the Re-Conquest of Immanence (1930–1980) 4 The Rise and Fall of Neo-Horizontalism (1981–2008) 5 The Paradigm Delay 6 In Search of Verticalism Bibliography Index