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IN AN EXAMINATION OF THE TENSIONS BETWEEN THE REAL STRUCTURE OF PUBLIC LIFE AND THE APPEARANCE IT PRESENTS TO ITS PARTICIPANTS, THIS ARTICLE INITIALLY OFFERS A SELF-INTERPRETATION OF A PARTICULAR WORKING CLASS CONSTITUENCY AND THEN INTRODUCES A SERIES OF HYPOTHETICAL REVISIONS IN THE THEORY. THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE STRUCTURAL DIMENSION IS DEMONSTRATED.

The theory of democratic pluralism has long provided the dominant ideal and description of politics in industrial societies with competing party systems. The purpose of this classic collection, including some of the leading theorists of the late 1960s, is to subject this theory to systematic scrutiny. The authors examine the work of such pluralists as Robert Dahl, David Truman, Adolf Berle, Arthur Bentley, Joseph Schumpeter, and Walter Lippmann, as well as of such critics of pluralist theory as C. Wright Mills, Herbert Marcuse, Henry Kariel, and Grant McConnell. Voicing the respective points of view of science, economics, philosophy, and psychology, the authors converge in their agreement that the conventional, pluralist interpretation of contemporary politics requires significant revision. The views of these diverse critics coalesce into the outline of what they see as a more enlightened political ideal and a more relevant descriptive theory. This collective portrait offers a provocatively new interpretative framework for the understanding of the politics of contemporary industrial society. Connolly includes a sophisticated discussion of such concepts as power, decision-making, politics, and interest groups and devotes considerable attention to the need to promote positive change, particularly where the pluralist system shows bias against certain segments of society as well as against some dimensions of social life affecting everyone's existence in the society. Intended for use in Comparative Government, Contemporary Political Theory, Political Parties and Pressure Groups, and advanced courses in American Government, this volume remains a challenging resource for those dealing with the nature and possible change of the organization of contemporary democratic society.

From youthful experiences of McCarthyism, to the resurgence of white evangelicalism, to the advent of aspirational fascism and the acceleration of the Anthropocene, William Connolly traces a career spent passionately engaged in making a more just, diverse, and equitable world. He surveys the shifting ground upon which politics can be pursued; and he discloses how to be an intellectual in universities that today do not encourage that practice.

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- Prelude: Myth and the Planetary -- 1. Sociocentrism, the Anthropocene, and the Planetary -- 2. Species Evolution and Cultural Creativity -- 3. Creativity and the Scars of Being -- 4. Distributed Agencies and Bumpy Temporalities -- 5. The Politics of Swarming and the General Strike -- 6. Postcolonial Ecologies, Extinction Events, and Entangled Humanism -- Postlude: Capitalism and the Planetary -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index

"Professor David Kettler commented at the time of initial release, that this book is "writing with great poise and clarity, the author says important things in a deceptively simple way about a problem of paramount significance. A fine piece of clarification, blending just the right mixture of respect and impiety toward the important heroes of contemporary political science, this is the kind of book I look forward to having available for our courses in political theory."Ideology, though long pronounced moribund, continues to play a central role in contemporary political inquiry. In this reevaluation of the true function of political science, the author lays down guidelines for the construction of fruitful political interpretations in the large areas where ideological assumptions and claims cannot be adequately tested. He analyzes two representative theories of power in American society-those of the "pluralists" who affirm and the "elitists" who dispute the case for democracy-and demonstrates how personal preferences and group-oriented interests enter into the development of these concepts. Speaking to all social scientists and students engaged in the study of political processes, Connolly details the methods by which the investigator-who inevitably brings his own beliefs and values to the task-can lay bare and control the ideological aspects of his own work and that of others.A critical examination of the writings of some of the leading figures in recent and contemporary political inquiry, such as Karl Mannheim, C. Wright Mills, Robert Dahl, Daniel Bell, and Seymour Martin Lipset leads him to assign a decisive role for the political scientist in the creation of carefully formulated ideologies. An original mind, drawing upon an exceptionally rich store of knowledge, has here produced an important book which will be of immediate-and challenging-relevance to the work and studies of all scholars, graduate students, and majors in the field"--Provided by publisher.

William E. Connolly expands his influential work on democratic pluralism to confront the perils of climate change by calling on us to deepen our attachment to the planet and to create a worldwide coalition of people from all demographics to contest the forces that prevent us from addressing climate change.

Seeking to extend sensitivity to the world's fragilities and intensify democratic activism, William E. Connolly explores how neoliberal capitalism collides with the fragile self-organizing systems that help to constitute our world.

Considers how non-linear notions of causality and time--where multiple, interacting, and partially open systems coexist--could transform the way we imagine political action.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction: The Spirit of Capitalism -- 1. The Volatility of Capitalism -- 2. The Evangelical-Capitalist Resonance Machine -- 3. Between Science and Faith -- 4. Is Eco-egalitarian Capitalism Possible? -- 5. Christianity, Capitalism, and the Tragic -- Notes -- Index

Prominent political theorist considers the intertwined relationship between capitalism and Christianity and its effects on contemporary U.S. politics.