Dennis H. Wrong's Books

Power

Its Forms, Bases, and Uses

By: Dennis Hume Wrong

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Power

Its Forms, Bases, and Uses

By: Dennis Hume Wrong

In one grand effort, this is an anatomy of power, a history of the ways in which it has been defined, and a study of its forms (force, manipulation, authority, and persuasion), its bases (individual and collective resources, political mobilization), and its uses. The issues that Dennis Wrong addresses range from the philosophical and ethical to the psychological and political. Much of the work is punctuated with careful examples from history. While the author illuminates his discussion with references to Weber, Marx, Freud, Plato, Dostoevsky, Orwell, Hobbes, Arendt, and Machiavelli, he keeps his arguments grounded in contemporary practical issues, such as class conflicts, multi-party politics, and parent-child relationships. In his new introduction, prepared for the 1995 edition of Power, the author reconsiders the concept of power, now locating it in the broader traditions of the social sciences rather than as a series of actions and actors within the sociological tradition. As a result, Wrong emphasizes such major distinctions as "power over" and "power to," and various conflations of power as commonly used. The new opening provides the reader with a deeper appreciation of the non-reductionist character of the book as a whole.

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Page Count

356

Publisher

Transaction Publishers

ISBN 10

1412831652

ISBN 13

9781412831659

The Oversocialized Conception of Man

By: Dennis Hume Wrong

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The Oversocialized Conception of Man

By: Dennis Hume Wrong

The chapters in this volume represent some of Dennis Wrong's best and most enduring essays. Initially published as Skeptical Sociology, this collection displays his ability to write compellingly for general intellectual audiences as well as for academic sociologists. The book is divided into sections that represent Wrong's major areas of interest and investigation: "Human Nature and the Perspective of Sociology," "Social Stratification and Inequality," and "Power and Politics." Each section is preceded by a short introduction that places the articles in context and elaborates and often sheds new light on the contents. The essays in the first section were written with polemical intent, directed against the assumptions of academic sociology that prevailed in an earlier period. Part two calls attention to the neglect by functionalists of power, group conflict, and historical change; Wrong shows that failure to consider them made functional theories of stratification especially vulnerable. The third section is more heterogeneous in subject and theme than the others; all the essays in it touch in some way on power or politics. Included in this volume is Wrong's celebrated and much-quoted article "The Oversocialized Conception of Man in Modern Sociology." Other significant essays reveal the author's views on many timely topics of sociological concern, such as the quests for "community" and for "identity"; the Freudian, Marxian, and Weberian heritages in sociology; social class in America; meritocracy; a theory of democratic politics; humanist, positivist, and functionalist perspectives; and the sociology of the future. The Oversocialized Conception of Man is an indispensable volume for sociologists, political theorists, and historians. Dennis H. Wrong is emeritus professor of sociology at New York University. He is the author of The Problem of Order, Population and Society, Class Fertility Trends in Western Nations, Power: Its Forms, Bases, and Uses (also published by Transaction), and The Modern Condition (forthcoming).

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Page Count

322

Publisher

Transaction Publishers

Published Date

ISBN 10

076580445X

ISBN 13

9780765804457

The Persistence of the Particular

By: Dennis H. Wrong

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The Persistence of the Particular

By: Dennis H. Wrong

Definitions of human beings as "symbolic animals" emphasize our capacity to form theories and general laws that can be applied to common social experience. This is balanced by an equally strong will to define events and conditions that are particular to specific times, places, and individuals. In this volume, Dennis H. Wrong argues that the scientific standard of universal laws and propositions has only limited relevance to human historical phenomena. Wrong identifies the essential questions for social science as the place of nature and nurture in forming personality, the sources of variation in human conduct and culture, the causes of deviations from social norms, how human motivations are socially shaped and controlled to make society possible, and, finally, the causes of social change. Because successive generations of thinkers have given varying answers to these questions, no cumulative progress can be said to have occurred. Wrong argues that the unity of theory and research sought by American sociologists cannot be obtained in social theory. In terms of sociological practice, this has created a disparity between the canonical theories of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber, and the empirically oriented methodologies of current social research--especially questionnaires, fieldwork, and statistical research. Wrong attributes this disparity to postmodern skepticism about the potential of the social sciences to create a body of knowledge that might positively reshape human society. Between the large-scale theoretical constructs of classical theory and the overly particularistic tendencies associated with postmodernism, Wrong argues for a historically oriented approach emphasizing unforeseen, accidental agents as a foundation for modestly conceived theories. Wrong emphasizes that the capacity to avoid predictable, standardized responses, whether they are based on instinct or ingrained habit, is the source of human creativity. Homo sapiens is as much a particularizing as a generalizing animal. That is the major theme of this effort at the humanization of a discipline divided by space, time, and purpose. Dennis H. Wrong is professor emeritus of sociology at New York University. He is the author of Reflections on a Politically Skeptical Era, The Oversocialized Conception of Man, and Power: Its Forms, Bases, and Uses.

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Page Count

110

Publisher

Transaction Pub

Published Date

ISBN 10

1412805015

ISBN 13

9781412805018

Problem of Order

By: Dennis Wrong

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Problem of Order

By: Dennis Wrong

At the end of the twentieth century, many fear that the bonds holding civil society together have come undone. Yet, as the noted scholar Dennis Wrong shows us, our generation is not alone in fearing a breakdown of social ties and a descent into violent conflict.

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Page Count

240

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

1439106479

ISBN 13

9781439106471

Power

Its Forms, Bases and Uses

By: Dennis Wrong

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Power

Its Forms, Bases and Uses

By: Dennis Wrong

In one grand effort, this is an anatomy of power, a history of the ways in which it has been defined, and a study of its forms (force, manipulation, authority, and persuasion), its bases (individual and collective resources, political mobilization), and its uses. The issues that Dennis Wrong addresses range from the philosophical and ethical to the psychological and political. Much of the work is punctuated with careful examples from history. While the author illuminates his discussion with references to Weber, Marx, Freud, Plato, Dostoevsky, Orwell, Hobbes, Arendt, and Machiavelli, he keeps his arguments grounded in contemporary practical issues, such as class conflicts, multi-party politics, and parent-child relationships. In his new introduction, prepared for the 1995 edition of Power, the author reconsiders the concept of power, now locating it in the broader traditions of the social sciences rather than as a series of actions and actors within the sociological tradition. As a result. Wrong emphasizes such major distinctions as "power over" and "power to," and various conflations of power as commonly used. The new opening provides the reader with a deeper appreciation of the non-reductionist character of the book as a whole.

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Page Count

514

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1351497529

ISBN 13

9781351497527

Reflections on Politically Skeptical Era (Clt)

By: Dennis Hume Wrong

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Reflections on Politically Skeptical Era (Clt)

By: Dennis Hume Wrong

... a welcome and scholarly contribution to Political Science reference collections and reading lists."--The Bookwatch All of the essays included in the present volume were written between 1995 and 2001. This attests to the timeliness and relevance of Dennis H. Wrong's writings. He notes that the mid-twentieth-century disposition to believe that politics fundamentally consisted of clashes between totalistic worldviews, such as communism, socialism, capitalism, fascism, nationalism, internationalism, and a cluster of "isms," may have been historically transitional. But politics now appears more nuanced, if no less troubled, following the collapse of the Soviet bloc between 1989 and 1991. Multiculturalism and identity politics, as well as communitarianism flourished in the 1990s. The volume is divided into five parts: "Capitalism--Inequalities and Alternatives," "Multiculturalism and Identity Politics," "Communitarianism," "Theory and Theorists," and "Autobiographical Reminiscences." This concluding part indicates how Wrong's work includes self-reflections as well as reflections--an examination of how figures such as C. Wright Mills and Raymond Aron, Amitai Etzioni, and Digby Baltzell, played a role in shaping his own thought, and how these changed over the course of the past century. This is the third collection of the essays and articles of Dennis H. Wrong published by Transaction. As was the case with his earlier volumes, Reflections on a Politically Skeptical Era is characterized by a deep attention to the actual social history of our times, and how this plays out in academic pursuits--especially within sociology. Whether the works were published in academic journals or more popular media, they reflect a quality of literary manners that is rare among social science writings, but a reflection that never sacrifices a sense of principle and probity in the process. Dennis H. Wrong is the author of several books, including two essay collections containing articles first published in cultural intellectual, political and scholarly journals in the United States, Canada, and Britain--several of which he has served as an editor or editor-in-chief. He has taught sociology at Princeton, Rutgers, Brown, the University of Toronto, the New School for Social Research Graduate Faculty, and for most of his career at New York University. He is currently retired and lives in Princeton.

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Page Count

248

Publisher

Transaction Publishers

ISBN 10

1412832810

ISBN 13

9781412832816

The Persistence of Particular Things

By: Dennis Hume Wrong

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The Persistence of Particular Things

By: Dennis Hume Wrong

Humans form theories and general laws that can be applied to common social experience. This is balanced by a will to define events and conditions particular to specific times, places, and individuals. Dennis H. Wrong argues that the scientific standard of universal laws and propositions has only limited relevance to human historical phenomena.

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Page Count

122

Publisher

Transaction Publishers

ISBN 10

1412830672

ISBN 13

9781412830676

The Oversocialized Conception of Man

By: Dennis H. Wrong

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The Oversocialized Conception of Man

By: Dennis H. Wrong

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Page Count

434

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1351303384

ISBN 13

9781351303385

The Modern Condition

Essays at Century’s End

By: Dennis Hume Wrong

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The Modern Condition

Essays at Century’s End

By: Dennis Hume Wrong

In this collection, a leading sociologist brings his distinctive method of social criticism to bear on some of the most significant ideas, political and social events, and thinkers of the late twentieth century. Of the seventeen essays, two are published for the first time, and several of the previously published essays have been expanded and updated for this volume. In the first section, the author critiques several concepts that have figured prominently in political-ideological controversiescapitalism, rationality, totalitarianism, power, alienation, left and right, and cultural relativism/multiculturalism. He considers their origins, historical shifts in their meaning and the myths surrounding them, and their subtle resonance beyond their formal definitions. The second section highlights the authors lifelong interest in the relation of intellectuals to social classes and institutions. The author critically assesses the notion of a New Class in which intellectuals have been alleged to play a prominent role, considers the implications for class structure of the increasing centering of intellectual life in the university, and assesses the relation of sociology to professional jargon. The final essays in this section discuss four influential thinkers: David Riesman, Daniel Bell, Christopher Lasch, and Allan Bloom. The book closes with an autobiographical statement centered on the authors intellectual-political life.

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Page Count

276

Publisher

Stanford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0804732418

ISBN 13

9780804732413

Reflections on a Politically Skeptical Era

By: Dennis Wrong

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Reflections on a Politically Skeptical Era

By: Dennis Wrong

All of the essays included in the present volume were written between 1995 and 2001. This attests to the timeliness and relevance of Dennis H. Wrong's writings. He notes that the mid-twentieth-century disposition to believe that politics fundamentally consisted of clashes between totalistic worldviews, such as communism, socialism, capitalism, fascism, nationalism, internationalism, and a cluster of "isms," may have been historically transitional. But politics now appears more nuanced, if no less troubled, following the collapse of the Soviet bloc between 1989 and 1991. Multiculturalism and identity politics, as well as communitarianism flourished in the 1990s. The volume is divided into five parts: "Capitalism--Inequalities and Alternatives," "Multiculturalism and Identity Politics," "Communitarianism," "Theory and Theorists," and "Autobiographical Reminiscences." This concluding part indicates how Wrong's work includes self-reflections as well as reflections--an examination of how figures such as C. Wright Mills and Raymond Aron, Amitai Etzioni, and Digby Baltzell, played a role in shaping his own thought, and how these changed over the course of the past century. This is the third collection of the essays and articles of Dennis H. Wrong published by Transaction. As was the case with his earlier volumes, Reflections on a Politically Skeptical Era is characterized by a deep attention to the actual social history of our times, and how this plays out in academic pursuits--especially within sociology. Whether the works were published in academic journals or more popular media, they reflect a quality of literary manners that is rare among social science writings, but a reflection that never sacrifices a sense of principle and probity in the process.

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Page Count

324

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1351323466

ISBN 13

9781351323468

Book's by Dennis H. Wrong

Power

Power

The Oversocialized Conception of Man

The Oversocialized Conception of Man

The Persistence of the Particular

The Persistence of the Particular

Problem of Order

Problem of Order

Power

Power

Reflections on Politically Skeptical Era (Clt)

Reflections on Politically Skeptical Era (Clt)

The Persistence of Particular Things

The Persistence of Particular Things

The Oversocialized Conception of Man

The Oversocialized Conception of Man

The Modern Condition

The Modern Condition

Reflections on a Politically Skeptical Era

Reflections on a Politically Skeptical Era

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