Suchergebnisse

Examines Max Weber's notion of plebiscitary leadership in the context of his general political orientation. Weber's political views are described as a complicated mix of liberalism, nationalism, & realism. These views developed over time into a form of social liberalism in which he sought a balance between the hope for democracy & the requirement of order. Important to the development of this balance was the cultivation of a form of responsible leadership that balanced the necessity of controlling the bureaucratic state with need to foster charismatic leaders who were also sensitive to institutional constraints. It was in parliament, therefore, that Weber saw that the intrinsic tension between charisma & bureaucracy might be negotiated. 22 References. D. M. Ryfe

Examines the impact of an FBI & grand jury investigation into the whereabouts of Susan Saxe & Kathy Power -- two women who participated in a bank robbery in Brighton, MA, on 23 Sept 1970, in the name of the Revolutionary Action Force -- on different groups in Lexington, KY, drawing on 1986-1988 oral history interviews with 35+ people. It is shown that the FBI used heavy-handed tactics against 6 individuals in Lexington who were presumed to know the whereabouts of Saxe & Power, an excess that radicalized these individuals, & others who witnessed their treatment. It is suggested that for these white, largely middle-class individuals, this episode was a lesson in being perceived as the Other. Whatever their political activities, they came to understand their very identity as lesbian, gay, or feminist as a kind of radical statement against mainstream society. 22 References. D. Ryfe

In an interview conducted by the Multinational Monitor, the author discusses her reasons for forming the Citizens Clearinghouse for Hazardous Waste (CCHW). Gibbs envisioned the CCHW as a kind of environmental justice center in which vulnerable populations -- eg, low-income people, people of color, & blue-collar workers -- could resist the dangerous environmental activities of corporations. Environmental justice is distinguished from environmentalism by its focus on people & communities. Initially, this focus led to a not-in-my-backyard attitude. However, in recent years, the CCHW has worked to solve environmental dilemmas, rather than push them onto other neighborhoods. CCHW's role in combating the use of dioxin is briefly described. It is insisted throughout that only very local, grassroots campaigns can achieve environmental justice, because only local education & activist efforts can effectively resist the dumping of toxins in their communities. D. Ryfe

Reflects on the process of becoming a Marxifying, if not a Marxist, sociologist, drawing on personal experience. Although it is common to proclaim that Marxism is dead today, Karl Marx's basic ontological belief remains salient: over time, inequalities between individuals grow, & in any society, there will always be a conflict between those who possess resources & those who do not. The coming to awareness of the value of this belief in the life of one sociologist is described. Formative intellectual influences in the 1940s-1960s came from Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, & Talcott Parsons, from whom the notions of normativity, rationality, & materiality were inherited. In the 1960s, this framework was mixed with everyday observations of racism, discrimination, & class inequality. Since that time, themes of power, ideology, class consciousness, & dialectical historical materialism have been integrated into this framework. While this process has not converted the author into a wholly Marxist sociologist, it has raised Marxist concepts & modes of thought to the forefront of his thinking. 18 References. D. Ryfe