Product Description
These essays, by widely respected scholars in fields ranging from social and political theory to historical sociology and cultural studies, illuminate the significance of the public/private distinction for an increasingly wide range of debates. Commenting on controversies surrounding such issues as abortion rights, identity politics, and the requirements of democratization, many of these essays clarify crucial processes that have shaped the culture and institutions… More >>
Public and Private in Thought and Practice: Perspectives on a Grand Dichotomy
Tags: abortion rights, controversies, debates, democratization, dichotomy, distinction, historical sociology, political theory
This book is terrific: for a serious treatment of all of the implications of the public/private distinction, this book has it all. Indeed, Jeff Weintraub’s essay, “The Theory and Politics of the Public/Private Distinction” is worth several times the cover price alone. Revealing astounding erudition and producing penetrating insights, Weintraub clearly and patiently shows us how many commonly understood notions of the public/private distinction are wrong and why. To sit at Weintraub’s intellectual table is to be guaranteed a delicious feast — as readers of this volume will quickly find out. Buckle up as Weintraub takes you from Smith to Gellner to Jane Jacobs to Aristotle to Durkheim and way beyond; for any lover of ideas, his essay and the others in this collection are a real treat
Rating: 5 / 5