Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

What do European societies look like, at the end of a turbulent millennium which saw western Europe slowly rise to global domination, and then rapidly decline to its present position, prosperous but clearly behind the USA in world influence? This is the only book by a single sociologist to make a systematic and up to date comparison of virtually all west European countries across a wide range of social institutions. These include: work and occupations, the structure of the economy, the family, education, religion, nationality and ethnicity, and the mechanism of citizenship in the welfare state. Particular emphasis is placed on the place of gender and social class. By including basic details on Japan and the United States throughout, the author is able to draw attention to any shared west European specificities. The book also develops a theory of change in contemporary societies. Starting from a model of a mid-century social compromise based on certain balances between industrialism, capitalism, traditional community institutions, and community it traces its subsequent destabilization and places particular importance on the resurgence of capitalism in shaping a new social order. This important new study of the social structure of western Europe will be essential reading for all students of comparative sociology and European sociology.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction
• Prologue: At the End of the European Millennium
• 1 The Making of Contemporary Europe
• Part I The Fate of Industrialism: Industrializing, Industrial or Post-Industrial Societies?
• 2 Work, Households and Occupations
• 3 The Organization of Working Life: Between Stability and Flexibility
• 4 The Sectors of Employment
• Part II Changes and Diversity in the Character of Capitalism
• 5 Capitalism and Inequality in Work
• 6 The Institutions of Modern Capitalism
• Part III Sociological Liberalism and the Institutions of Traditional Community
• 7 The Family
• 8 Families, Education, and Social Mobility
• 9 The Paradox of Religion
• 10 Nations, Cultures and Ethnicities
• Part IV Citizenship
• 11 Democracy and Mass Participation
• 12 The Organization of Social Interests
• 13 Mass Citizenship and Welfare States Conclusions
• 14 Is There a Western European Society?
• 15 What Kind of Society are We Now Inhabiting?

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Crouch addresses two key questions about the condition of modern Europe: how Western European states have changed since the 1960s; and whether a "Western" European identity exists. Utilizing his "snapshot" technique to compare Western Europe of the 1960s with that of the 1990s, Crouch argues that the "mid-century social compromise" of the welfare state still structures most Western European countries. Yet rather than a monolithic European identity, it is more accurate to identify distinct regional character. Relying heavily on "quantitative material," Crouch demonstrates the tenuous institutional balance among industrialism, capitalism, traditional community, and citizenship. He further argues that these have recently been forced to adapt to the demands of global capitalism, Americanization, and the rise of individualism. Part 1 is concerned with economic activity, especially the shift from industrialism to postindustrialism. Part 2 examines the ownership and control of the economy to investigate different forms of contemporary capitalism and the nature of inequality. Family, education, religion, ethnicity, and nationalism are explored in part 3, while the final part examines democracy and mass citizenship. Crouch's arguments are well supported by figures, tables, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. Upper-division undergraduate and graduate levels. ; Augustana University College

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Colin Crouch is Professor of Sociology at the European University Institute, Florence. He is the author or editor of numerous publications including Reinventing Collective Action (edited with David Marquand), Political Economy of Modern Capitalism: Mapping Convergence and Diversity (edited with W. Streeck), and Industrial Relations and European State Traditions, which won the Political Studies Association W.J.M. MacKenzie Prize for 1993.