Looking Backward: A Critical Appraisal of Communitarian Thought

Derek L. Phillips

Published by Princeton University Press 1993

Looking Backward

A Critical Appraisal of Communitarian Thought

Derek L. Phillips

Volume 269 in the series Princeton Legacy Library

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400863495

Overview
Contents

About this book

When social reformers blame the current ills of Western culture on the loss of community, they often evoke an ideal past in which societies were characterized by shared values, respect for tradition, commitment to the common good, and similar attributes. Communitarians assert that community was prominent in the past, and argue that reclaiming the role community formerly played is necessary to counter the negative effects of individualism and liberal thinking. Considering the relevance of community for our moral and political life today, Derek Phillips offers the first thorough critique of the historical, often nostalgic, claims that underlie dominant versions of communitarian philosophy.

Originally published in 1993.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Reviews

[An] intelligent and lucid study. . . . Phillips argues that the societies of late eighteenth-century America and the high Middle Ages did not enjoy a common history and shared values, widespread political participation, or strong bonds of social solidarity. . . . The merits of Phillips's approach are substantial. He brings together not only political theory and history but also interesting perspectives from contemporary sociology.---Adam Swift, The Times Literary Supplement

"Looking Backward is an interesting, intelligent, well-informed, and extremely well-written book. Its importance lies in its effort to build a bridge between the contemporary historical scholarship and the wide-ranging and free-wheeling debates by philosophers and political theorists, and in its contribution to the heated debate about our 'usable'—and abusable—past."—Donald R. Kelley, Rutgers University

A compelling defense of liberal politics and individual rights. Phillips shows the ways in which communitarians romanticize and distort the societies of the past.---Ruth Conniff, The Progressive

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Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
Chapter 1. Uncovering the Communitarian Ideal Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	10
Chapter 2. Once Upon a Time in America Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	24
Chapter 3. The Communitarian Ideal and the American Reality Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	61
Chapter 4. Life in the Middle Ages: An Overview Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	81
Chapter 5 The Communitarian Ideal and the Medieval Reality Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	105
Chapter 6. Community and the Good Life in Classical Athens Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	122
Chapter 7. Learning from History Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	149
Chapter 8. A Liberal Response to Communitarian Thought Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	175
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	197
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	227
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	243

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