New Book: Sociology and Classical Liberalism in Dialogue, Freedom is Something We Do Together
And it's open access!
It is my pleasure to announce the publication of the book: Sociology and Classical Liberalism in Dialogue - Freedom is Something We Do Together. This book is edited with sociologist Charlotta Stern of Stockholm University and the Ratio Institute. It is published by Rowman & Littlefield via the Lexington imprint.
The book starts with a simple observation: sociologists and classical liberals tend to be pretty skeptical of each other. We then asked scholars to think about how sociology and classical liberalism can engage in a fruitful exchange. Each author chose a topic and discussed it from this perspective.
Here’s a guided tour. You can access the entire volume here as it is open access.
In the introduction, Lotta and I document the stark gap between sociologists and classical liberals. We discuss the history of this gap and theorize about bridges.
In chapter 1, John Iceland and Eric Silver discuss the empirical correlation between liberalized markets and poverty reduction.
In chapter 2, I talk about how free societies produce financial and cultural resources that allow marginalized racial groups to press for positive social change.
In chapter 3, Brandon R. Davis discusses the “Predatory States of America” and highlights how the criminal justice system exploits African Americans.
In chapter 4, Charlotta Stern argues that labor market sociology would be better served by difference feminism as a starting point instead a more collectivist version of feminism.
In chapter 5, Lauren Hall relies on Austrian economics to talk about how entrepreneurship and more liberal medical sector regulation might help disenfranchised people obtain health care.
In chapter 6, Mikayla Novak uses insights from the Bloomington School and Austrian economics to enrich social movement research.
In chapter 7, Patrik Aspers argues that classical social theory and economic sociology provide a strong argument against a liberal individualism.
In chapter 8, Jack Goldstone thinks about the challenges that classical liberalism and democracy face in a world filled with nationalism and illiberal populism.
In chapter 9, Ilana Redstone discusses the problems with ideological certainty, especially in an academic environment, and how it leads to destructive thinking.
In the conclusion, Charlotta and I talk about how a classical liberally informed sociology might act as a “Third Way” between technocratic positivist sociology and more collectivist humanist approaches.
We really enjoyed working on this volume and it was a real pleasure working with such excellent authors. We hope you’ll download the book and check it out.
Bottom line: If you need a little freedom in your sociological coffee, this is the book for you.
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