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The Communitarian Update
Number 33
January 18, 2001
Next: The Road to the Good Society
Amitai Etzioni's newest book has just been published by Basic Books. Marvin Olasky
says of the book, "For those of us bored by ponderous and predictable liberal
treatises, Next is a succinct and creative pleasure. All those debating America's
political future should think through its proposals." Rabbi Harold Kushner notes:
"Intelligent, impassioned, insightful-Etzioni's is a voice we need to listen to."
Legislating Morality?
Communitarians argue that we differ from social conservatives in that the latter
seek to enact morality. Social conservatives respond that this isn't necessarily
so. (See the exchange between Professor Robert George and Amitai Etzioni in The
Responsive Community Volume 9, Issue 2, Spring 1999.) Now John Ashcroft has stated
quite openly that it is the role of the government to "legislate morality."
(New York Times, 1.14.01)
Ecircles Conversations Continue
The question of the month for January is: What do parents owe their
children (morally speaking) once they are of age? And what do children owe
their parents once they are incapacitated because of age or illness? Join
the discussion:
http://wwwld-00-18-ec.ecircles.com/magic/products/circle/settings.cgi?circleID=3300684
New Issue of The Responsive Community!
(Free sample issues available)
SCROLL DOWN FOR OTHER NEWS
Volume 11, Issue 1, Winter 2000/01
Up Front
Are Two Communities Better than One? -- Shlomo Avineri
The Marriage Therapy -- David Myers
Victims of the Year -- John Leo
Essays
Democracy and the Reconstitution of Moral Order
What in particular can--and should--be done to improve the moral climate in America
that would be compatible with the ethos of a democratic society and also stand a
reasonable chance of being effective? Four political theorists consider approaches
to restoring moral order in America--and question whether such a remoralization is
even compatible with contemporary American society.
The Contours of Remoralization -- Francis Fukuyama
Parental Responsibility in a Time of Societal Irresponsibility -- R. Bruce Douglass
Free Agent Nation? The Political Consequences of Cultural Commitments -- William M. Sullivan
The Way We Live -- Ronald Beiner
Vision for America: A Place for Faith -- Senator Joe Lieberman
Tocqueville saw America as a country in which the spirit of freedom and the spirit of religion form
a "marvelous combination." Two centuries later, his vision lives on.
Next: Three Steps Towards a Good Society -- Amitai Etzioni
Inequality. Materialism. Cultural fragmentation. Is this the great American way? It doesn't have to be.
The Empty Square -- Alan Ehrenhalt
Informal gatherings at parks, beauty parlors, and courthouses used to be a crux of
small-town social life. The public spaces are still there. But where did all the people go?
Departments
The Community Bookshelf
Putting Putnam's Thesis in Its Place -- Dennis Wrong
Review of Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.
Communitarianism and the Escape from Politics -- James Willson-Quayle
Review of Elizabeth Frazer's The Problems of Communitarian Politics: Unity and Conflict.
Beyond Debate -- James Davison Hunter
Review of Daniel Yankelovich's The Magic of Dialogue: Transforming Conflict into Cooperation.
The Moral Dimension of the Media
Reality-Based Filmmaking Versus Reality -- Martin Koughan
Libertarians, Authoritarians, Communitarians
Commentary -- Richard T. Foltin, Duncan MacRae, Jr.
Visit The Responsive Community on our web: http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/rcq.
If you would like to receive a FREE sample of our publication for yourself or your organization, please
let us know at comnet@gwu.edu, or call (800) 245-7460. Same--to subscribe.
OTHER NEWS
So much for informed consent....
Anywhere from 25 to 50 percent of patents and subjects do not understand what
it is that they have agreed to when providing consent for medical and research
procedures. An article in the November 30, 2000 issue of The New York Review
of Books examines the "The Shame of Medical Research."
Be an endorser!
Since being reopened this March we have had over 100 new endorsers to the platform!
To read and endorse the platform, go to: http://www.communitariannetwork.org.
Some recent endorsers include Dr. David Anderson of Potomac, MD, Professor
Richard Coughlin of Albuquerque, NM and Marybeth Greenan of Mason City, IA
Communitarian Theory Seminar
This is to announce an invitation-only seminar on New Developments in Communitarian
Theory, to be conducted by Amitai Etzioni before the opening of the SASE meeting
in Amsterdam. The special session (which will pay special attention to transnational
communities) will take place from 9 to 12 am on Thursday, June 28.
No fees are involved, but space is limited and registration is required. For more
information, to register yourself, or to nominate someone else to attend the conference,
contact Joanna Cohn (be sure to put the word "seminar" in the subject line) or fax at
202.994.1606. (Those who seek to participate in the SASE meeting must register independently.
For details, visit SASE's homepage or call 410.435.6617.)
New Publications
After Progress: European Socialism and American Social Reform in The Twentieth Century
by Norman Birnbaum (Oxford University Press) traces the decline and fall of social
reform in Europe and America.
Protecting Teens: Beyond Race, Income and Family Structure. Report issued by the University
of Minnesota Adolescent Health Center. It is based on the National Longitudinal Study of
Adolescent Health and has been published in the American Journal of Public Health as well.
Copies of the report may be obtained by writing aph@umn.edu.
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