ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book. The book deals with a polemical intent, directed against the leading assumptions of academic sociology and social criticism influenced by it that prevailed in the 1950s and early 1960s. It does not deal specifically with conceptions of human nature or of the relation of self to society, although it adumbrates the theme of an oversocialized conception of man. The book examines two major themes in popular social criticism: the "quest for community" and the corollary or complementary "quest for identity". The ideology of "community" involves the affirmation as a value of the consensus and social cohesion that were regarded as the defining attributes of society by the dominant sociological theories of the 1950s. Similarly, "identity as a sought-after goal is congruent with the definition of man as essentially a "role-player" who finds the meaning of life in conformity to the "expectations" of others.
