Conditions of Liberty: Civil Society And Its Rivals - Hardcover

Gellner, Ernest

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0713991143 ISBN 13: 9780713991147

Publisher: Allen Lane, 1994

Synopsis

As Ernest Gellner shows in this path-breaking book, the most significant difference between communism (and other totalitarian ideologies) and Western liberalism is the existence of the civil society - the intermediary institutions like trade unions, political parties, religions, pressure groups and clubs which fill the gap between the family and the state. Under communism the civil society was suppressed. In liberal democracy it thrives. If life is to improve in Eastern Europe, the civil society must be encouraged to grow and prosper: the early signs - as observed by the doyen of British social anthropology - are good. The contrast with militant Islam is extraordinary: while Marxism as a faith has collapsed, Islam has been growing ever stronger. In fundamentalist states like Iran there is little civil society and apparently not much pressure for one, either. Why is there so little resistance or opposition? How can this be understood? This is an extremely important book and a major contribution to the 'end of history' debate by one of the most distinguished scholars working in Europe today.

About this title

About the Author:

Ernest Gellner is William Wyse Professor of Social Anthropology at Cambridge and Professorial Fellow at King's College. For the last three years he has also been Research Professor at the Central European University, Prague.

Synopsis:

Argues that the major difference between communism and Western democracy was the existence of intermediary institutions, such as trade unions, political parties, religions, and clubs.

About this edition

• Publisher: Allen Lane
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0713991143
• ISBN 13: 9780713991147
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240