War and Social Theory

Into Battle with Classes, Nations and States

Bibliographic Data

ID20069929
AuthorsMichael Mann (0000-0002-5690-4776)
Year1987
Pages54-72
Publication date1987-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueThe Sociology of war and peace (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan UK (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/978-1-349-18640-2_4
OpenAlexW2463561025
ISBN9781349186402
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited1

It would be easy to polemicise against 'orthodox sociology's' shameful neglect of war; to lament the paucity of sociology's contribution to the most urgent social problem of our time — peace; and to deride the naive, pacific optimism of the 'classic theorists' whose writings form the theoretical core of our own education and that of our students. But the neglect may now be over. Recently sociology has been paying more attention to war and peace; while the surrounding political and cultural climate has changed more radically. In the 'Star Wars' programmes — I do not mean the fantasy version by Ronald Reagan, but the real one by George Lucas — whole planets can be destroyed by a single weapons system. Today both adults and children recognise that as contemporary reality. This is paralleled by the more surreptitious growth of chemical weapons, persuading many commentators that the world may soon end, not with a bang but with a blister. If sociology has anything useful to say, it will have a large and receptive audience.KeywordsMiddle ClassForeign PolicySocial TheoryChemical WeaponClass StruggleThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves

Aesthetics · Ancient history · Art · Battle · Fantasy · Lament · Literature · Neglect · Political science · Politics · Psychoanalysis · Social science · Sociology · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · History · Law · Philosophy · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology

Tools

Open DOILibgen