Reflect on modernity

Author: Eisenstadt
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: This book analyzes different development models of modernity in Western and non-Western societies at different periods through macro-historical comparison, and offers its own perspectives on the "classic" theories of modernization, as well as the classical sociological analyses of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber, and contemporary theories such as "The Clash of Civilizations" and "The End of History." The essays in this book focus on several key aspects of modernity and modern civilization. The common core of these analyses is the concept of plural modernity—meaning the view that, on the one hand, emphasizes the uniqueness of modernity as a distinct civilization, and on the other hand, highlights the immense variability and fluidity of its specific institutional and cultural models. Accordingly, the book is divided into three parts. The first part analyzes some unique characteristics of modernity civilization and its variability. The second part is the longest section of the book, analyzing the development models of modernity in different societies during the classical period of modernity (i.e., the period of nation-states and revolutionary states). The chapters in the last part discuss the massive transformations of all modernity models on the contemporary stage—beyond nation-states and revolutionary states—where one of their fundamental characteristics is the resurgence of the religious dimension as a central component in the constitution of modernity.