{"product_id":"9780809076567","title":"A Place for Us : How to Make Society Civil and Democracy Strong","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eA Place for Us\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Benjamin R. Barber\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn our crowded, noisy world—too many people, too much crime, too many wars, not enough time—it seems almost impossible to locate and preserve the common ground where a civil society might flourish. Whatever happened to the civic virtue and community life that nourished true democracy? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this provocative, hard-hitting book, political scientist Benjamin Barber tackles these questions head-on and, in answering them, retrieves the ideals of \"civil society\" from the nostalgists who want to re-create old-fashioned (and discriminatory) small communities and from the free-marketeers who associate it with unfettered commercial activity. Commentators have been making a fashion of civil society, but they tend to mean many different things by the phrase: this bracingly clear book shows how diverse the various notions are and how best to think about them. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBarber proposes practical strategies for making civil society real, for civilizing public discourse and promoting civic debate, and for affirming values beyond those of work and leisure, commerce and bureaucracy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9780809076567\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Hill and Wang","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40652246057166,"sku":"9780809076567","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9780809076567","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}