Nicholas Abercrombie

Should human organs be bought and sold? Is it right that richer people should be able to pay poorer people to wait in a queue for them? Should objects in museums ever be sold? The assumption underlying such questions is that there are things that should not be bought and sold because it would give them a financial value that would replace some other, and dearly held, human value. Those who ask questions of this kind often fear that the replacement of human by money values – a process of commodification – is sweeping all before it. However, as Nicholas Abercrombie argues, commodification can be, and has been, resisted by the development of a moral climate that defines certain things as outside a market. That resistance, however, is never complete because the two regimes of value – human and money – are both necessary for the sustainability of society. His analysis of these processes offers a thought-provoking read that will appeal to students and scholars interested in market capitalism and culture.

Should human organs be bought and sold? Is it right that richer people should be able to pay poorer people to wait in a queue for them? Should objects in museums ever be sold? The assumption underlying such questions is that there are things that should not be bought and sold because it would give them a financial value that would replace some other, and dearly held, human value. Those who ask questions of this kind often fear that the replacement of human by money values – a process of commodification – is sweeping all before it. However, as Nicholas Abercrombie argues, commodification can be, and has been, resisted by the development of a moral climate that defines certain things as outside a market. That resistance, however, is never complete because the two regimes of value – human and money – are both necessary for the sustainability of society. His analysis of these processes offers a thought-provoking read that will appeal to students and scholars interested in market capitalism and culture.

In this sequel to their acclaimed The Dominant Ideology Thesis, the authors develop their analysis of the social and cultural underpinnings of modern capitalism. They confront a central assumption of western culture: namely, that the individual is sovereign, and that capitalism above all other economic forms depends on individualism. These ideas have an unbroken history from Alexis de Tocqueville to Milton Friedman. The paradox of the modern world is that the moral emphasis on the individual is contradicted by the actual organization of economy and society.The authors suggest that individualism and capitalism have no enduring or necessary relationship. Their linkage is entirely accidental and was confined to one particular historical period in the West. Against the background of what they term the Discovery of the Individual, the authors show how individualism gave capitalism a particular shape, and capitalism in turn highlighted the possessive features of the individual. Oriental capitalism and late capitalism in the West bear no particular relationship to individualism; indeed, they flourish best in the absence of individualistic culture. Collectivism increasingly dominates both economic and social life. These issues once informed the sociological enterprise, but have not been systematically addressed in recent times. This book revives the classical tradition of the historical and comparative analysis of culture and economy in capitalist society, in the context of the late twentieth-century world.

As a radical critique of theoretical sociological orthodoxy, The Dominant Ideology Thesis has generated controversy since first publication. It has also been widely accepted, however, as a major critical appraisal of one central theoretical concern within modern Marxism and an important contribution to the current debate about the functions of ideology in social life.

Most recent sociological work on the theory of class is based on a distinction between Weberian and Marxist approaches. For the first part of this volume, the authors use this distinction to review the literature on the middle class, concentrating particularly on the traditions of Marxist theory and of the more empirical work inspired by Max Weber. They show, however, that this distinction is of limited utility in reconstructing a theory of the middle class.

In this volume leading international scholars elaborate upon the central issues of the analysis of ideology: the nature of dominant ideologies. The ways in which ideologies are transmitted; their effects on dominant and subordinate social classes in different societies; the contrast between individualistic and collectivist belief systems; and the diversity of cultural forms that coexist within the capitalist form of economic organization.This book is distinctive in its empirical and comparative approach to the study of the economic and cultural basis of social order, and in the wide range of societies that it covers. Japan, Germany and the USA constitute the core of the modern global economy, and have widely differing historical roots and cultural traditions. Argentina and Australia are white settler societies on the periphery of the capitalist world-system and as a result have certain common features, that are cut across in turn by social and political developments peculiar to each. Britain after a decade of Thatcherism is an interesting test of the efficacy of an ideological project designed to change the cultural values of a population. Poland shows the limitations of the imposition of a state socialist ideology, and the cultural complexities that result.

As a radical critique of theoretical sociological orthodoxy, The Dominant Ideology Thesis has generated controversy since first publication. It has also been widely accepted, however, as a major critical appraisal of one central theoretical concern within modern Marxism and an important contribution to the current debate about the functions of ideology in social life.

In this sequel to their acclaimed The Dominant Ideology Thesis, the authors develop their analysis of the social and cultural underpinnings of modern capitalism. They confront a central assumption of western culture: namely, that the individual is sovereign, and that capitalism above all other economic forms depends on individualism. These ideas have an unbroken history from Alexis de Tocqueville to Milton Friedman. The paradox of the modern world is that the moral emphasis on the individual is contradicted by the actual organization of economy and society.The authors suggest that individualism and capitalism have no enduring or necessary relationship. Their linkage is entirely accidental and was confined to one particular historical period in the West. Against the background of what they term the Discovery of the Individual, the authors show how individualism gave capitalism a particular shape, and capitalism in turn highlighted the possessive features of the individual. Oriental capitalism and late capitalism in the West bear no particular relationship to individualism; indeed, they flourish best in the absence of individualistic culture. Collectivism increasingly dominates both economic and social life. These issues once informed the sociological enterprise, but have not been systematically addressed in recent times. This book revives the classical tradition of the historical and comparative analysis of culture and economy in capitalist society, in the context of the late twentieth-century world.

Most recent sociological work on the theory of class is based on a distinction between Weberian and Marxist approaches. For the first part of this volume, the authors use this distinction to review the literature on the middle class, concentrating particularly on the traditions of Marxist theory and of the more empirical work inspired by Max Weber. They show, however, that this distinction is of limited utility in reconstructing a theory of the middle class.

In this volume leading international scholars elaborate upon the central issues of the analysis of ideology: the nature of dominant ideologies. The ways in which ideologies are transmitted; their effects on dominant and subordinate social classes in different societies; the contrast between individualistic and collectivist belief systems; and the diversity of cultural forms that coexist within the capitalist form of economic organization.This book is distinctive in its empirical and comparative approach to the study of the economic and cultural basis of social order, and in the wide range of societies that it covers. Japan, Germany and the USA constitute the core of the modern global economy, and have widely differing historical roots and cultural traditions. Argentina and Australia are white settler societies on the periphery of the capitalist world-system and as a result have certain common features, that are cut across in turn by social and political developments peculiar to each. Britain after a decade of Thatcherism is an interesting test of the efficacy of an ideological project designed to change the cultural values of a population. Poland shows the limitations of the imposition of a state socialist ideology, and the cultural complexities that result.

Sociology is the intellectual discipline that seeks to provide answers to those questions by the deployment of argument and evidence. In doing so it will often question basic assumptions that we all make about our social world and therefore has the capacity to upset settled or conventional opinions. This book is an invitation to engage in this endeavour. concise, accessible introduction to a key discipline in the social sciences; written by an experienced author who is widely respected for his broad and deep understanding of the subject and his ability to write in a clear and compelling way; provides argument and evidence about key sociological questions which will be of help to students approaching the subject for the first time; this is the third book in the Polity Short Introductions series (following Bob Connell's Gender and Stephanise Lawson's International Relations).

Sociology is the intellectual discipline that seeks to provide answers to those questions by the deployment of argument and evidence. In doing so it will often question basic assumptions that we all make about our social world and therefore has the capacity to upset settled or conventional opinions. This book is an invitation to engage in this endeavour. concise, accessible introduction to a key discipline in the social sciences; written by an experienced author who is widely respected for his broad and deep understanding of the subject and his ability to write in a clear and compelling way; provides argument and evidence about key sociological questions which will be of help to students approaching the subject for the first time; this is the third book in the Polity Short Introductions series (following Bob Connell's Gender and Stephanise Lawson's International Relations).

The third edition of the highly-acclaimed Contemporary British Society is the only textbook to provide comprehensive coverage of all aspects of the social structure of modern Britain. Completely revised and updated, this new edition employs the very latest statistical information and empirical studies, and examines all the new arguments and debates concerning modern British society. Separate chapters explore the major areas of modern life in Britain - economic organization, employment, patterns of inequality, class, gender, ethnicity, family and households, education, health, media, deviance and politics. New to this edition are chapters on globalization, associations, and leisure. The emphasis throughout the book is on an accessible, user-friendly, and non-technical approach. It is written in a jargon-free and approachable style; there is extensive cross-referencing and frequent and clear summarizing of arguments; and numerous photographs, diagrams, graphs, drawings and cartoons complement and illuminate the text. Contemporary British Society is written for students of introductory sociology whether they are taking 'A' level or are in the first year of an undergraduate course in a higher education institution. It will also be useful for those taking courses in other subjects, such as social policy, health and town planning, which demand knowledge of particular aspects of British society. Please visit the accompanying website at: http://www.polity.co.uk/cbs3

The third edition of "Contemporary British Society" provides comprehensive coverage of all aspects of the social structure of modern Britain. Revised and updated, it employs statistical information and empirical studies, and examines arguments and debates concerning modern British society.

Television and Society is a textbook designed to introduce students to the role of television in contemporary society. It explores the structure of the television text, the way in which that text is produced and the way it is consumed. The first section deals with the analysis of television programmes as texts. It covers, for example, the issues of realism, narrative, genre and ideology, the domestication of television programming and the nature of soap opera and news. The section on the production of television deals firstly with the structure of the industry as a whole - the ways in which television is financed and distributed, the globalization of television and media imperialism, and the political economy of television. This is followed by a consideration of the internal workings of television organizations, including the role of the producer, the functioning of the production team, the television personality and the producer's perceptions of the audience. The final section investigates theories of the television audience and combines qualitative and quantitative studies. There is discussion on the history of audience research, methods of measuring the audience, the domestic context of viewing, and television talk. Clearly written, Television and Society will be an ideal textbook for students in media studies, cultural studies and the sociology of culture.