Tonnies: Community and Civil Society (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought)

"Ferdinand Tonnies's Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft (first published in 1887) is a classic of social and political theory in the later-modern period. It focuses on the universally endemic clash between small-scale, kinship and neighbourhood-based 'communities' and large-scale competitive market 'societies'. This theme is explored in all aspects of life - in political, economic, legal and family structures; in art, religion and culture; in constructions of 'selfhood' and 'personhood'; and in modes of cognition, language and human understanding. Tonnies is best known as one of the 'founding fathers' of modern sociology, but the present work lays greater emphasis on his relationship to European political thought and to developments in philosophy since the seventeeth-century scientific revolution, particularly the legacies of Hobbes and Kant. It can be read at many different levels: as a response to developments in Bismarckian Germany; as a more general critique of the culture of modernity; as a theoretical exercise in social, political and moral science; and as an unusual commentary on the inner character of 'democratic socialism'. This new translation and introduction make Tonnies's classic but difficult work accessible to English-speaking readers interested in social and political theory, intellectual and social history, language and cultural studies, and the history of economic thought."--Jacket. Read more... Abstract: "Ferdinand Tonnies's Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft (first published in 1887) is a classic of social and political theory in the later-modern period. It focuses on the universally endemic clash between small-scale, kinship and neighbourhood-based 'communities' and large-scale competitive market 'societies'. This theme is explored in all aspects of life - in political, economic, legal and family structures; in art, religion and culture; in constructions of 'selfhood' and 'personhood'; and in modes of cognition, language and human understanding. Tonnies is best known as one of the 'founding fathers' of modern sociology, but the present work lays greater emphasis on his relationship to European political thought and to developments in philosophy since the seventeeth-century scientific revolution, particularly the legacies of Hobbes and Kant. It can be read at many different levels: as a response to developments in Bismarckian Germany; as a more general critique of the culture of modernity; as a theoretical exercise in social, political and moral science; and as an unusual commentary on the inner character of 'democratic socialism'. This new translation and introduction make Tonnies's classic but difficult work accessible to English-speaking readers interested in social and political theory, intellectual and social history, language and cultural studies, and the history of economic thought."--Jacket Ferdinand Tönnies' Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft (first published in 1887) is a classic of social and political theory, which explores the clash between small-scale neighbourhood-based 'communities' and large-scale competitive market 'societies'. Tönnies considers all aspects of life - political, economic, legal and family; art, religion and culture; the construction of 'selfhood' and 'personhood'; and modes of cognition, language and understanding. Often recognised as one of the founding texts of sociology, Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft is also a highly significant contribution to European political thought and philosophy, with particular relevance to the legacies of Hobbes and Kant. It is at once a response to modernity, a theoretical exercise in social, political and moral science, and an unusual commentary on the inner character of 'democratic socialism'. This new English rendition will introduce Tönnies' work to a fresh generation of English-speaking readers with interests in social and political theory and the history of European ideas Tönnies' Community and Civil Society (first published in 1887 as Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft) is a classic of social and political theory, exploring the tension between close-knit "communities" and an emerging global market "society". It is a response to modernity, an exercise in social, political and moral science, and an unusual commentary on the inner character of "democratic socialism". This new translation and introduction make this important work much more readily accessible to student readers, and those interested in social and political theory and the history of European ideas. Content: Bk. 1. A general classification of key ideas -- Sect. 1. The theory of Gemeinschaft -- Sect. 2. The theory of Gesellschaft -- Bk. 2. Natural will and rational will -- Sect. 1. The forms of human will -- Sect. 2. Explanation of the dichotomy -- Sect. 3. Practical implications -- Bk. 3. The sociological basis of natural law -- Sect. 1. Definitions and propositions -- Sect. 2. The natural element in law -- Sect. 3. Inter-related forms of will -- commonwealth and state -- App. Conclusions and future prospects. Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft (Community and Civil Society) is a classic of social and political theory, exploring the tension between close-knit 'communities' and an emerging global market 'society'. This new translation and introduction make this seminal work accessible to students of social and political theory and the history of European ideas