Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book begins Engagement and Disengagement with a discussion of concepts of authority that have been developed by modern social scientists. It discusses authority as one of the main social mechanisms by which individuals and institutions engage with dominant values and institutions. The book explores how this interplay between authority and the social stability it supports is balanced by forces of disengagement, or release from obligations demanded by authority. It focuses on good citizenship, authority and legitimacy, and patterns of authority suggest such an outcome. The book highlights our understanding of authority, political life, and the intellectuals who have helped shape our understanding of contemporary America. Authority has always been one of modern sociology's pivotal concepts. Egalitarianism, defying authority and tradition, tends to disconcert the political world by causing indifference to the public interest, sociologically defining the essence of radical individualism.