ABSTRACT
Sociology, one is tempted to say, is a third current, running in parallel with those two. Doing sociology and writing sociology are aimed at disclosing the possibility of living together differently, with less misery or no misery: the possibility daily withheld, overlooked or unbelieved. The sociologists, do not write poems - and some of us who occasionally do, take for the time of writing a leave of absence from our professional pursuits. The kind of enlightenment which sociology is capable of delivering is addressed to freely choosing individuals and aimed to enhance and reinforce their freedom of choice. There is no choice between an 'engaged' and 'neutral' way of doing sociology. A non-committal sociology is an impossibility. Seeking a morally neutral stance among the many brands of sociology practised today, stretching all the way from the outspokenly libertarian to the staunchly communitarian, would be a vain effort.
