Anthony Giddens is one of the most famous and influential sociologists of recent decades. Largely credited with the concept of the 'Third Way', he continues to be a key advisor to Tony Blair, and is generally presented as an exponent of liberalism and socialism.
This book provides a controversial introduction to Giddens' work, covering the wide range of his writing from theory to self-reflexivity, modernity and politics, placing them all within the illuminating framework of a historical context.
Giddens' writing has always embodied a political and ethical position, one that has changed considerably over the years and is best understood through the social context in which it was written. His work in the 1970s attempted to marry liberalism and socialism, but, following the collapse of Communism in the 1990 East-European revolutions, his world view became liberal rather than socialist, and his later work on reflexivity and the 'Third Way' embodies this.
Loyal explores how this world-view accounts for many tensions and failures in Giddens' theory and that, overall, his work is fundamentally flawed.
- ISBN10 0745317812
- ISBN13 9780745317816
- Publish Date 20 May 2003
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Out of Print 16 August 2010
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Pluto Press
- Format Hardcover (Library Binding)
- Pages 256
- Language English