Searching for the Spirit of American Democracy: Max Weber's Analysis of a Unique Political Culture, Past, Present, and Future

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Paradigm Publishers, 2014 - Political Science - 157 pages
The 'crisis of American democracy' debate is advanced in this engaging new contribution. By referring to Max Weber's long-term perspective, Stephen Karlberg provides rich new insights into the particular contours of today's American political culture - and some reasons for optimism. Kalberg draws upon Weber to reconstruct political culture in ways that define America's unique spirit of democracy. Developing several Weber-inspired models, the author reveals patterns of oscillation in American history. Can these pendulum movements sustain today the symbiotic dualism that earlier invigorated American democracy? Can they do so to such an extent that the American spirit of democracy is rejuvenated? Whilst exploring whether Weber's explanations and insights can be generalised beyond the American case, 'Searching for the Spirit of American Democracy' forcefully argues that facilitating political cultures is indispensable if democracies are to endure.

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About the author (2014)

Stephen Kalberg, Associate Professor of Sociology at Boston University, is the author of Max Weber's Comparative-Historical Sociology Today (Ashgate 2012), the translator of Max Weber: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Oxford 2011), and the editor of Max Weber: Readings and Commentary on Modernity (Wiley Blackwell 2005).

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