Common Good: Afterlives and Borrowings
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Book Overview
In this book, Amitai Etzioni, public intellectual and leadingproponent of communitarian values, defends the view that no societycan flourish without a shared obligation to "the common good."Rejecting claims made by some liberal thinkers that it is notpossible to balance individual rights with uncoerced civicresponsibility, Etzioni explores a number of key issues which poseimportant questions for those concerned with promoting the commongood in contemporary society. Are we morally obliged to do more forour communities beyond treating everyone as endowed with basicrights? Should privacy be regarded not merely as a right but alsoas an obligation? And should the right to free speech take priorityover the need to protect children from harmful material in themedia and on the internet?
Etzioni asks how we can strike a healthy balance between individualrights and public safety in an age of global terrorism. Heevaluates various new government devices, from wiretaps to viruses, which open our lives to public scrutiny. Particular attention isgiven to the issues surrounding government-issued DNA tests. Thebook concludes by questioning whether we can still talk of arelationship between the common good and the nation-state, orwhether the "online" society in which we live will make itincreasingly difficult to maintain those communities which are thevery homeland of the common good.
This new book, by one of the world's leading social and politicalthinkers, will be important reading for students and scholars ofpolitical science, social philosophy, sociology, and public policy, as well as for the interested general reader.
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