{"product_id":"9780195158595","title":"After Progress: American Social Reform and European Socialism in the Twentieth Century","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe twentieth century witnessed a profound shift in both socialism and social reform. In the early 1900s, social reform seemed to offer a veritable religion of redemption, but by the century's end, while socialism remained a vibrant force in European society, a culture of extreme individualism and consumption all but squeezed the welfare state out of existence. Documenting this historic change, \u003ci\u003eAfter Progress: European Socialism and American Social Reform in the 20th Century\u003c\/i\u003e is the first truly comprehensive look at the course of social reform and Western politics after Communism, brilliantly explained by a major social thinker of our time.\u003cbr\u003e Norman Birnbaum traces in fascinating detail the forces that have shifted social concern over the course of a century, from the devastation of two world wars, to the post-war golden age of economic growth and democracy, to the ever-increasing dominance of the market. He makes sense of the historical trends that have created a climate in which politicians proclaim the arrival of a new historical epoch but rarely offer solutions to social problems that get beyond cost-benefit analyses. Birnbaum goes one step further and proposes a strategy for bringing the market back into balance with the social needs of the people. He advocates a reconsideration of the notion of work, urges that market forces be brought under political control, and stresses the need for education that teaches the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.\u003cbr\u003e Both a sweeping historical survey and a sharp-edged commentary on current political posturing, \u003ci\u003eAfter Progress\u003c\/i\u003e examines the state of social reform past, present and future.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press, USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47046251708656,"sku":"9780195158595","price":35.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780195158595_p0.jpg?v=1763664117","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780195158595","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}