Review by Choice Review
Delanty argues that modernity as "cultural project" (associated with autonomy, individualism, democracy) is undermined by modernity as "social project" (associated with rationalization, fragmentation, capitalism). In making his case Delanty offers what is in effect a concise but masterful bibliographic essay on the literature of modernity from T"onnies to Touraine. The common thread running through his discussions of the major social theorists is how each struggled with "the age-old debate . . . between the priority of the individual and society." Delanty concludes that people need to rethink current working definitions of modernity. He argues that they should question, for example, concepts such as differentiation and disenchantment, often perceived as hallmarks of modernity, and instead acknowledge the increasing interpenetration of institutional structures and the "penchant for enchantment" seen in neofascism, the fantasy world of cyberspace, and religious revivalism. There are probably plenty of social scientists who believe they are already engaged in exactly such questioning, but Delanty makes his case so well that he is likely to inspire others to challenge some of the insights of an earlier era that have since become constraints on attempts to understand the modern world. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students. M. A. Olshan; Alfred University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
