ABSTRACT
Modern societies currently lack positive alternative visions of the future. Many writers have claimed that the only option is a return to free-market capitalism, in which success and survival depend on being as competitive as possible whether as a nation, firm or individual.; Paul Hirst argues that there are viable alternative futures and widely applicable models that can be used to structure change. Hirst's distinctive approach to political theory reasons from real political problems rather than confining itself to abstract concepts.; Presenting an innovative political position, this collection of essays represents an attempt to re- state a practical third way between the discredited ideals of state socialism and laissez-faire capitalism.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |25 pages
Introduction
part |68 pages
Democracy and associative governance
chapter |10 pages
Associative democracy
chapter |22 pages
Associational democracy
chapter |11 pages
From statism to pluralism
part |59 pages
Democracy and civil society
chapter |19 pages
Quangos and democratic government
chapter |21 pages
Democracy and civil society
chapter |7 pages
Can the Conservatives reinvent civil society?
chapter |11 pages
Sidestepping the state
part |90 pages
Global pressures and democratic governance