Lynne Rienner Publishers Logo

A Civil Republic: Beyond Capitalism and Nationalism

Severyn T. Bruyn
A Civil Republic: Beyond Capitalism and Nationalism
ISBN: 978-1-56549-199-1
$27.50
2005/289 pages/LC: 2004027485
A Kumarian Press Book
Also of interest: The Myth of the Free Market: The Role of the State in a Capitalist Economy by Mark A. Martinez
"This is a book full of moral adrenalin.... Bryun is neither arrogant nor utopian; he is candid about the breaches and failures that can occur in his civil economy model. Yet skeptical readers will find his message a decided improvement over impersonal market forces and the moral coma that now confront the United States."—Contemporary Sociology

"This thought-provoking book addresses the question of how government, business, and civil society leaders might work to develop more civil institutions.... Hopeful and engaging."—Voluntas

"A welcome illumination of the boundary between civil society and the social economy."—Jon Van Til, Rutgers University, Camden

"Since human beings live in communities, which are shaped by tradition and values, they need to participate, engage, contribute. Only an economy and a polity which makes this possible can be truly human. Bruyn shows that such a society is not just a utopian dream, but is possible an doable."—Harvey Cox, Harvard Divinity School

DESCRIPTION

Severyn T. Bruyn argues that—in a world of injustice, ecological destruction, violence and instability, weapons of mass destruction, and the rise of authoritarian government—our ability to craft a secure future lies in creating a "civil republic."

Bruyn envisions a system of governance that merges core human values of civil society into a political economy that has reigned supreme since the end of the Cold War. He sees a world in which religious institutions, health-care systems, businesses, media, and governments could support values of honesty, justice, and public health rather than stand subservient to corporate interests and those of markets and nation-states. He explores ways to implement a new model—one of public policy that builds a civil society beyond the conventions of capitalism and nationalism.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Severyn T. Bruyn is emeritus professor in the Department of Sociology at Boston College.

CONTENTS

  • Introduction.
  • THE PROBLEM: CAPITALIST NATIONS.
  • Capitalism and Globalization: What's the Problems?
  • Civil Sociey: What’s This Central Idea?
  • The Decline of Civil Society: Where Are We Going?
  • THE SOLUTION: CIVIL MARKETS.
  • Two Models: Could a New Market Develop?
  • A Theory of Development: How Is the New Model Applied?
  • THE PLAN: CIVIL DEVELOPMENT.
  • The Process of Development: What Are the Guidelines?
  • The Mass Media: Who Owns It?
  • The Market Struggle: Who Are the Agents of Change?
  • CONCLUSION: THE GLOBAL PICTURE.
  • A Global Political Order: How Does a Civil Society Develop?
  • A Civil Republic: How Do We Get There?