Commitment And Community: Communes And Utopias In Sociological Perspective
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Edition: 3rd printing
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Good
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
What does it take for a community to survive — and what binds human beings together in the pursuit of a shared ideal? Commitment and Community: Communes and Utopias in Sociological Perspective by Rosabeth Moss Kanter presents a landmark sociological investigation into the forces that hold intentional communities together and the mechanisms that cause them to fracture and fail. Drawing on a sweeping comparative analysis of nineteenth-century American communes — from the Shakers to the Oneida Community — Kanter constructs a rigorous framework for understanding how commitment, both psychological and structural, functions as the lifeblood of utopian experiment. Kanter argues that successful communities are not born of mere idealism, but are sustained through carefully cultivated social and organizational strategies — what she terms commitment mechanisms — that attach members emotionally, cognitively, and morally to the group. Her prose is precise and analytical, yet the subject matter carries an undeniable human urgency that resonates far beyond academic sociology. Published by Harvard University Press, this work remains a foundational text in the sociology of organizations, religion, and social movements, and its insights into why people join, stay within, or abandon collective enterprises are as relevant today as ever. For anyone who has ever wondered whether utopia is possible, Kanter's answer is both sobering and quietly hopeful.
Author: Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Format: Paperback
Published: 1973, Harvard University Press
Genre: Society & culture
Edition: 3rd printing
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Good
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
What does it take for a community to survive — and what binds human beings together in the pursuit of a shared ideal? Commitment and Community: Communes and Utopias in Sociological Perspective by Rosabeth Moss Kanter presents a landmark sociological investigation into the forces that hold intentional communities together and the mechanisms that cause them to fracture and fail. Drawing on a sweeping comparative analysis of nineteenth-century American communes — from the Shakers to the Oneida Community — Kanter constructs a rigorous framework for understanding how commitment, both psychological and structural, functions as the lifeblood of utopian experiment. Kanter argues that successful communities are not born of mere idealism, but are sustained through carefully cultivated social and organizational strategies — what she terms commitment mechanisms — that attach members emotionally, cognitively, and morally to the group. Her prose is precise and analytical, yet the subject matter carries an undeniable human urgency that resonates far beyond academic sociology. Published by Harvard University Press, this work remains a foundational text in the sociology of organizations, religion, and social movements, and its insights into why people join, stay within, or abandon collective enterprises are as relevant today as ever. For anyone who has ever wondered whether utopia is possible, Kanter's answer is both sobering and quietly hopeful.