Johann P. Arnason's Books

First published in 1997. This book is addressed to two kinds of readers: to social theorists, on the grounds that the Japanese experience is or should be of particular relevance to their problems, and to scholars working on Japanese history, culture and society, in the hope that the theoretical interpretations outlined below may be of some interest to them.

Offering a vital reflection on the unity and diversity of the modern world, this important new book connects with the current debate on multiple modernities and argues that this notion can only be properly understood in a civilizational context. Johann Arnason presupposes the idea of modernity as a new civilization with its specific social imaginary, centred on strong visions of human autonomy but open to differentiation on institutional and ideological levels, as well as in changing historical contexts. The book begins by connecting this perspective to a distinctive framework of social theory, centred on the differentiation of economic, political and cultural spheres. Arnason goes on to deal with Communism as the most important alternative version of modernity, and with East Asian developments as a particularly complex and instructive case of interacting modernities. The book concludes with reflections on globalization theory and ways of reformulating it in light of the civilizational approach.

This book begins with a critical survey of current debates on the "clash of civilizations", goes on to discuss classical and contemporary approaches to civilizational theory, and concludes with an outline of a conceptual framework for comparative analysis.

This outstanding book analyses the Soviet model as a distinctive pattern of modernity - examining its historical background and institutional structure, and challenging many of the assumptions and judgements made about the Soviet road.

Book's by Johann P. Arnason

Social Theory and Japanese Experience

Social Theory and Japanese Experience

The Labyrinth of Modernity

The Labyrinth of Modernity

Civilizations in Dispute

Civilizations in Dispute

The Future That Failed

The Future That Failed

Civilizations in Dispute

Civilizations in Dispute

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