A Place for Us: How to Make Society Civil and Democracy Strong

by Benjamin R. Barber

Book Overview

In our crowded, noisy world--too many people, too much crime, too many wars, not enough time--it seems almost impossible to locate and preserve the common ground where a civil society might flourish. Whatever happened to the civic virtue and community life that nourished true democracy?

In this provocative, hard-hitting book, political scientist Benjamin Barber tackles these questions head-on and, in answering them, retrieves the ideals...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080907656X
• ISBN13: 9780809076567
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux-3pl
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A very important work...

Sometimes a book comes along that helps you view the world around you with new eyes, and this is just such a book. Barber discusses the third, generally neglected, pillar of modern society; after government and the market comes the "civil society" in which we create our identities and find our deepest fulfillment. The entire book is fascinating, and the last chapter is downright visionary, wherein Barber discusses how "the end of work" may turn out to be humanity's greatest tragedy--or greatest boon.If you care about the future of society or the future of democracy--and the two are entirely coincident, you need to read this book.