Description
The rampant individualism of the 1980s has largely given way to a search for less selfish forms of government and society. Community and the Economy presents one such social ideal in the form of democratic communitarianism. Jonathan Boswell rejects the narrow notions of liberty, equality and prosperity and urges in their place the fundamental values of fraternity, social responsibility and democratic participation. Central to this goal is the need to balance community values and a carefully nurtured fabric of public cooperation. Much of the work focuses on the factors which appear to have favored this cooperation in practice. These include: compact economic institutions; processes of disclosure and social monitoring which increase organizational transparency; socio-economic forums; and networks for contact across social division and economic gulfs. The author concludes, from both conceptual and historical analysis, that all these factors can be built on and developed if we choose.
