The Coming Fin de Siecle: Application of Durkheim's Sociology to Modernity and Postmodernism - Tapa blanda

This book attempts to show the relevance of Durkheim's sociology to the debate on modernity and postmodernism. It does so by examining how Durkheim's ideas can be applied to current social issues. The author argues that there are striking parallels between the social context of the 1890s, when Durkheim began to publish in book form, and today. Now as then, stock markets are in constant danger of "crashing". AIDS has become the new syphillis. Medjugorje has become the new Fatima, and the Virgin Mary is predicting terrible punishments for humanity again. The book reexamines the "fin de siecle" spirit of the 19th century and applies the conclusions which emerge to the coming "fin de siecle". It argues that the fruits of the Enlightenment are either dead or dying. It concludes that a new liberalism can be founded on Nietzsche's and Durkheim's "cult of feeling", a benign irrationalism. Timely and assured, the book will appeal to readers of sociology, as well as the related disciplines of philosophy, psychology, cultural studies and history. This book should be of interest to undergraduates and postgraduates of sociology, politics and cultural studies.