Policy Press

Law and Society in a Populist Age

Balancing Individual Rights and the Common Good

By Amitai Etzioni

Published

Oct 9, 2019

Page count

224 pages

ISBN

978-1529200263

Dimensions

216 x 138 mm

Imprint

Bristol University Press

Published

Jul 11, 2018

Page count

224 pages

ISBN

978-1529200256

Dimensions

216 x 138 mm

Imprint

Bristol University Press

Published

Jul 11, 2018

Page count

224 pages

ISBN

978-1529200287

Dimensions

Imprint

Bristol University Press

Published

Jul 11, 2018

Page count

224 pages

ISBN

978-1529200294

Dimensions

Imprint

Bristol University Press
Law and Society in a Populist Age

The law-based, political institutions in many democratic societies are being challenged by fast-growing populist movements, parties, and leaders. In other nations, the state is failing. These seismic changes call for greater attention to be paid to the role society plays in forming and challenging laws—and how the law copes with these challenges.

Amitai Etzioni, one of the most respected thinkers in the US, argues for a new liberal communitarian approach as an effective response to populism. This recognizes that different members of the society have differing values, interests, and needs that cannot be fully reconciled to legislation in a populist age.

The book considers the core challenge in a variety of contexts, including national security versus privacy, private sector responsibility, freedom of the press, campaign finance reform, regulatory law and the legal status of terrorists. Thus the book offers a timely discussion of key issues for contemporary society and the relationship of the law to the citizen in a fast-changing environment.

Amitai Etzioni (1929-2023) was the first University Professor of The George Washington University. He previously taught at Columbia University and at Harvard University. He served as a Senior Advisor to the White House from 1979-1980 and as president of the American Sociological Association. He contributed to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal and was awarded the Seventh James Wilbur Award for Extraordinary Contributions to the Appreciation and Advancement of Human Values and the Sociological Practice Association's Outstanding Contribution Award.

Part 1: Power and legitimacy;

A response to populism;

The privatization of force;

Captured;

Forging new legitimacy;

Part 2: Rights and the common good;

The common good;

Rights and responsibilities;

Privacy vs. Security;

How liberty is lost;

Part 3: Supranational overreach;

Undermining genocide prevention;

Nationalism as a block to community building;

Part 4: Response to new technology;

Should A.I. be regulated? (co-authored with Oren Etzioni);

A privacy doctrine for the cyber age.