ABSTRACT
Jane Addams may have been less a scholar than a social activist. However, she published a large number of essays, speeches and books on pragmatism and social policies that have been neglected for too long but have ample relevance today. Jane Addams was not the first to point to the importance of 'mundane' matters such as household and community development and the improvement of living conditions in urban neighbourhoods. About half a century earlier, Harriet Martineau introduced sociology to Britain, insisting that an analysis of a society must include an understanding of women's lives. The world has become so interconnected that some sort of world governance has become inevitable. The foundation of the United Nations (UN) at the end of the Second World War is a manifestation of this development. Community participation, inclusion, democratic decision-making and the development of good relations belong to the main features of pragmatism, and also to Jane Addams' view and deeds.
