The Moral Commonwealth

A study of moral and social theory that establishes the intellectual foundations of an important new movement in American thought: communitarianism. It attempts to explain and justify this communitarian turn and give it a liberal interpretation. “An outstanding accomplishment. This masterful result of a life-long study of social sciences, social philosophy, and ethics yields a book no student of our social or moral foundation, condition, and hence future, can afford to miss.”--Amitai Etzioni, author of the Moral Dimension Philip Selznick's study of moral and social theory establishes the intellectual foundations of an important new movement in American thought: communitarianism. Emerging in part as a response to the excesses of American individualism - particularly rampant during the 1980s - communitarianism seeks to restore the balance between individual rights and social responsibilities. The Moral Commonwealth attempts to explain and justify this communitarian turn and give it a liberal interpretation.