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Discusses the nature, foundations, & implications of the contradictions inherent in the political & cultural program of modernity. It is argued that modern constitutional-democratic regimes have been most significantly influenced by political upheaval (the American & French Revolutions, the English great rebellion, etc) & philosophical movements such as the Enlightenment. Under these conditions, modern democratic regimes have been forced to negotiate the delicate boundaries between politics, culture, religion, & philosophy, & it is argued that these competing concepts of morality & institutionalization have contributed to the formation of structural pluralism in the West, characterized by a multiplicity of overlapping political & social structures. Recent developments, eg, the collapse of communism in Europe & the globalization of industry, have placed additional burdens on the concept & institutions of modernity. The modern era of transition demands increasingly fluid political & social institutions, & it is concluded that the greatest challenge facing modern constitutional-democratic regimes is the development of a common cultural framework in which competing views of the common good can be expressed & negotiated without destroying the structures & alliances necessary for democracy & order. T. Sevier

Summarizes the continuing debate, initiated largely by Clark & Seymour Martin Lipset in "Are Social Classes Dying?" (1991), about the relevance of class in contemporary politics. Changes in the importance of social class as a variable in various subfields of sociology are reviewed, & differences are attributed to differences in the meanings of class in each subfield. The dynamics of class politics are outlined, & ways that these are conceptualized, operationalized, & measured in different subfields are compared. A general framework for the analysis of class politics & assessment of its continued significance in the new political culture (NPC) of the postindustrial world is derived, & the importance of each of its elements explored: (1) voting behavior; (2) leaders' policy preferences; (3) party programs & candidate backgrounds/views; (4) occupation, workforce participation, social class, etc; (5) voter demographic characteristics; & (6) citizens' political attitudes. Propositions by class theorists are empirically tested against the assumptions of the NPC model, & different ways of interpreting historical vs systemic effects are discussed. 3 Tables, 8 Figures, 2 Appendixes, 76 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

Summarizes the continuing debate, initiated largely by Clark & Seymour Martin Lipset in "Are Social Classes Dying?" (1991), about the relevance of class in contemporary politics. Changes in the importance of social class as a variable in various subfields of sociology are reviewed, & differences are attributed to differences in the meanings of class in each subfield. The dynamics of class politics are outlined, & ways that these are conceptualized, operationalized, & measured in different subfields are compared. A general framework for the analysis of class politics & assessment of its continued significance in the new political culture (NPC) of the postindustrial world is derived, & the importance of each of its elements explored: (1) voting behavior; (2) leaders' policy preferences; (3) party programs & candidate backgrounds/views; (4) occupation, workforce participation, social class, etc; (5) voter demographic characteristics; & (6) citizens' political attitudes. Propositions by class theorists are empirically tested against the assumptions of the NPC model, & different ways of interpreting historical vs systemic effects are discussed. 3 Tables, 8 Figures, 2 Appendixes, 76 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

Fieldwork conducted 1991 in Schlossberg County, East Germany, informs a discussion of the effects of postcommunist transformation on East German agriculture. The county has a population of 25,000, 16,000 of whom live in the town of Schlossberg. Agriculture accounted for 17% of total employment in 1989. Interviews were conducted with all major policymakers & key bureaucrats & a survey of the county's mostly dairy agricultural cooperatives (former collectives). The dismantling of the collective farms & its effects on agricultural production & employment are emphasized. Specific laws & market forces impacting the newly established cooperatives are discussed. It is argued that the main obstacles facing the cooperatives are the same ones faced by Western farmers: the limits of agriculture as an activity, government regulation of production quotas, market prices, etc. It is also contended that the cooperatives are a valuable form of production, but one that is not appreciated by government policies. Discussed in conclusion are wider community social change (eg, increase in retail goods, growing right-wing sympathies among youth) & the political economy of East German development. 23 References. E. Blackwell

Um theoretische und methodische Probleme der Beschreibung ganzer Gesellschaften zu diskutieren, werden in dem Aufsatz zunächst zwei Arten von Beschreibungen ganzer Gesellschaften charakterisierend beschrieben: essayistische Darstellungen und Zahlenwerke mit oft geringer Kommentierung. Es wird gezeigt, daß die Ähnlichkeiten in der Beschreibung von verschiedenen Industriegesellschaften zu einem gegebenen Zeitpunkt größer sind als die Übereinstimmungen in der Art der Beschreibung eines gegebenen Landes im Zeitablauf. Als Beispiel wird das Projekt "Comparative Analysis of Whole Societies" von Eisenstadt und Podgorecki in seinen Dimensionen aufgezeigt. Ziel der weiteren Überlegungen ist es, ein eigenes Konzept zu entwickeln. Dazu wird zunächst das Sozialsystem (am Beispiel der BRD) als Schnittmenge von Einheiten betrachtet. Auf dieser Grundlage erfolgt dann die Charakterisierung von Sozialsystemen als Konstanz im Wandel: Neben den Dimensionen sozialen Wandels (Sozialprodukt, Lebensstandard, Einkommensverteilung etc.) wird eine hohe Kontinuität in der Lebensweise (Organisation der Gesellschaft z.B.) konstatiert. Als Beleg werden die strukturellen Besonderheiten der wohlhabenden Industriegesellschaften herausgearbeitet. Abschließend wird die Bedeutung intermediärer Instanzen diskutiert, wobei auch das Thema Devolution angesprochen wird. (RW)

"A major form of cruelty arises from rituals at group boundaries. Successful rituals based on strong mutual focus of attention and shared emotions generate group solidarity as well as moral outrage against violations of group symbols. In segmentary social structures adjacent tribes, gangs, etc. outsiders have only negative moral value and violence against them is celebrated. When complex societies combine vertical stratification with ritualized vertical boundaries, cruelty is publicly displayed in such forms as torture and mutilation; cruelty itself becomes a ritual communicating institutionalized domination. Historically, these forms of cruelty have declined, via several processes: the replacement of segmentary units by complex webs of interactions, producing a sphere of mild public civility, as well as what Durkheim and Parsons described as universalistic morality. Another process has been state penetration into society, breaking up patrimonial and local enclaves, and gradually creating universal citizenship. Nevertheless, ritualized cruelty reappears in modern conditions: via state-level rituals especially in warn, and by facilitating the mobilization of social movements which also are capable of ritualized cruelty. A second major form of cruelty is distinctively modern: bureaucratic organizations with their formal procedures and remote chains of command can produce callous cruelty, ignoring inadvertent side-effects such as forced population movements or economic embargos. Bureaucratic organizations of control such as the military and prisons also contain informal structures within them; when the bureaucracy is also a total institution, it tends to return to the ritualization of vertical boundaries and hence to informal rituals of cruelty dramatizing local hierarchy. Several different kinds of pathways to cruelty can blend, as in torture in wartime prisons. Structural conditions however suggest solutions." (author's abstract)