Communalism and its critics

Author: Bell
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-11-01
Features: This book is another example of the vitality of communitarianism. Bell has written a lively and engaging book. His keen political insight into the real world and his thorough mastery of cutting-edge theories add much to the book. The book is unique, written in the form of a dialogue between a liberal and a communitarian. To think of a comparable example of writing political theory in dialogue form is only Maurice Cranston's Political Dialogues. Daniel Bell has rather ingeniously adopted the "dialogue" form. In today's world where theoretical monographs are becoming increasingly difficult to read and more specialized, Bell's approach can be seen as a counterbalance, at least connecting with the ancient sage Plato's Republic. In The Republic, Socrates does not need so many bombastic technical terms; through a series of questions, classifications, deductions, and refutations, he guides the discussion toward the center of what he needs to express and elaborate. In fact, in the opening chapter "In Defense of Dialogue," Bell first mentions this precedent of The Republic and argues that "the ongoing debate between communitarians and liberals in Anglo-American political theory seems particularly suited to the dialogue form."