In "Modernity: Religious and Ethical Perspectives," Nicos Mouzelis examines the three unique structural features of modern societies: inclusion of the whole population into the nation-state, top-down differentiation of institutional spheres, and the expansion of individualization from the top to the base of the social pyramid. The author shows how the above features relate to present-day religious phenomena such as secularisation/desecularization, the new religious movements, and the forms of present-day spiritualities. He examines the extent to which secularisation and rationalization led to the "disenchantment of the world." Later, however, one observes a reaction to the established, hierarchically organized churches and to the adherence, mainly of young people, to less structured religious groups, to religious syncretism, and to individual seekers who tried to find "their own God." From this perspective, one can argue that we have a partial "re-enchantment of the world.
Nicos Mouzelis argues against a marked tendency in present- day sociology to conflate philosophy and sociological theory. In trying to demonstrate the relative autonomy and specific logic of sociological theorising, he draws from a variety of theoretical traditions in order to construct a set of interrelated concepts useful for bridging the gulf between macro and micro sociologies. Drawing examples from the sociology of development and from the theory of organisations, the author shows concretely how the conceptual framework proposed can help the researcher to avoid both the reification of macro institutional structures and their reduction to the intersubjective understandings of micro actors.
Social theory is open to many passing currents. Claims to originality tend to thrive and past achievements are often ignored. In Sociologiocal Theory: What Went Wrong? Mouzelis claims that "problems" currently being isolated are not really problems, and that "achievements" claimed are little more than pretensions. He argues that we have been premature to dismiss thinkers from the late 1950s and early 1960s and that we can build on their ideas to produce a more effective, more relevant social theory. Written with precision and with clarity, Sociological Theory: What Went Wrong? is a compelling analysis of the central problems of sociological theory today and of the means to resolve them.
Written with precision and clarity, this is a compelling analysis of the central problems of sociological theory today and of the means to resolve them. Argues that we should build on ideas from the 50s and 60s, and not dismiss them.
First published in 1998. This is Volume VIII of the eighteen in the Sociology of Work and Organization series and offers an analysis of modern theories in relation to organisation and bureaucracy. The present study tries to provide some guidance which may help students to orient themselves with greater ease in the labyrinth of organisational writings. More specifically, it tries to identify and examine critically some of the major approaches to the study of organisations, and the ways in which such approaches are linked with each other.
How can we understand social democracy today? This ambitious book offers a global perspective on the nature of capitalism; its past and future possibilities of survival; the differentiation between neoliberal, authoritarian and social democratic systems, exemplified by the United States, China, and the EU; and the conflict relationships between them. Reflecting on urgent global risks, such as climate change, pandemics and nuclear confrontation - Mouzelis & Sotiropoulos explore why these risks can only be dealt with by the cooperation of these three major players in the global arena. They explore how the model of social democracy, which in the previous century tamed unfettered capitalism in some national contexts, can help contain the excesses of global capitalism now. In clear, compelling and coherent terms, the authors demonstrate how unchecked antagonism among these three major players has the potential to spill-over into inertia or reluctance to manage these urgent risks, to the detriment of humanity as a whole.
Mouzelis puts forward a post-Marxist conceptual framework which overcomes economic reductionism while retaining some distinctive features of the Marxist paradigm which are seen to be indispensable for an examination of how whole social orders are constituted, maintained and transformed.
Organizational Pathology draws an extended metaphor that the life cycle of an organization is akin to the biological life cycle. Like all living things, organizations will encounter problems that lead to decline and eventual failure. This work discusses the basic problems and life threatening diseases responsible for organizations' failure and death, including organizational politics, organizational corruption, and organizational crime. The book also contains a critical look at crises and fixations; failure and survival; and processes of disbandment and closure of dying organizations.The consideration of these issues follows a diagnostic model of failure. Yitzhak Samuel argues that if the problems that lead to failure can be predicted or diagnosed early, their severity can be assessed and possible remedies can be implemented to avoid escalating crises. At the very least, an understanding of why and how decline happens can be gained from this analysis. This book offers facts about the causes and consequences of organizational downfall and clues about diagnoses of certain symptoms of abnormal behavior, and how to identify early signs of decline or failure. In order to illustrate these abstract arguments and concepts, Samuel uses various real-life examples of events that have occurred in cross-country contexts. In this way, Organizational Pathology: Life and Death of Organizations should serve a variety of readers.Although primarily intended for students and scholars in the social and behavioral sciences who are familiar with the study and the practice of organizations, this book's informal style makes it easily accessible to a wide range of readers. Just as Samuel's previous book on organizational politics led to new lines of research and theory, this book will encourage similar studies in organizational pathology and institutional malaise.
Mouzelis puts forward a post-Marxist conceptual framework which overcomes economic reductionism while retaining some distinctive features of the Marxist paradigm which are seen to be indispensable for an examination of how whole social orders are constituted, maintained and transformed.
Nicos Mouzelis argues against a marked tendency in present- day sociology to conflate philosophy and sociological theory. In trying to demonstrate the relative autonomy and specific logic of sociological theorising, he draws from a variety of theoretical traditions in order to construct a set of interrelated concepts useful for bridging the gulf between macro and micro sociologies. Drawing examples from the sociology of development and from the theory of organisations, the author shows concretely how the conceptual framework proposed can help the researcher to avoid both the reification of macro institutional structures and their reduction to the intersubjective understandings of micro actors.
This book provides an explanation for the fundamental disagreement pertaining to immigration and asylum in Europe. Since the collapse of consensus with the end of the Cold War, immigration and asylum have increasingly emerged as a central socio-political issue in Europe. The present work attempts to move beyond the complexity of ‘managing’ migratory flows by focusing on the most daunting issues arising from the response to the ‘refugee crisis’ in Europe. This debate is intimately connected to borders, security, belonging, citizenship and labour precarity/inequality. The book addresses some crucial dimensions related to the migration and asylum dissensus by providing an integrated frame of analysis from the point of view of resistance, rather than that of power. It connects notions of belonging and the migrant integration with the processes of de-democratisation, racist populism, citizenship and authoritarian migration regimes, and contributes towards a theory of the asylum and immigration dissensus by examining the potential for transition towards a society of equality and rights. The author proposes that the encounter(s) with surplus populations in Europe, which result in the multiplication of liminal regimes as well as spaces for resistance, generates potential for social imaginaries, promising a society unimaginable in previous epochs. This book will be of much interest to students of migration and border studies, global governance, European politics and International Relations.
How can we understand social democracy today? This ambitious book offers a global perspective on the nature of capitalism; its past and future possibilities of survival; the differentiation between neoliberal, authoritarian and social democratic systems, exemplified by the United States, China, and the EU; and the conflict relationships between them. Reflecting on urgent global risks, such as climate change, pandemics and nuclear confrontation - Mouzelis & Sotiropoulos explore why these risks can only be dealt with by the cooperation of these three major players in the global arena. They explore how the model of social democracy, which in the previous century tamed unfettered capitalism in some national contexts, can help contain the excesses of global capitalism now. In clear, compelling and coherent terms, the authors demonstrate how unchecked antagonism among these three major players has the potential to spill-over into inertia or reluctance to manage these urgent risks, to the detriment of humanity as a whole.
Social theory is open to many passing currents. Claims to originality tend to thrive and past achievements are often ignored. In Sociologiocal Theory: What Went Wrong? Mouzelis claims that "problems" currently being isolated are not really problems, and that "achievements" claimed are little more than pretensions. He argues that we have been premature to dismiss thinkers from the late 1950s and early 1960s and that we can build on their ideas to produce a more effective, more relevant social theory. Written with precision and with clarity, Sociological Theory: What Went Wrong? is a compelling analysis of the central problems of sociological theory today and of the means to resolve them.
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