Looking Backward

When social reformers blame the current ills of Western culture on the loss of community, they often evoke an ideal past in which societies were characterized by shared values, respect for tradition, commitment to the common good, and similar attributes. Communitarians assert that community was prominent in the past, and argue that reclaiming the role community formerly played is necessary to counter the negative effects of individualism and liberal thinking. Considering the relevance of community for our moral and political life today, Derek Phillips offers the first thorough critique of the historical, often nostalgic, claims that underlie dominant versions of communitarian philosophy.

Originally published in 1993.

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"[An] intelligent and lucid study. . . . Phillips argues that the societies of late eighteenth-century America and the high Middle Ages did not enjoy a common history and shared values, widespread political participation, or strong bonds of social solidarity. . . . The merits of Phillips's approach are substantial. He brings together not only political theory and history but also interesting perspectives from contemporary sociology."---Adam Swift, The Times Literary Supplement

"Looking Backward is an interesting, intelligent, well-informed, and extremely well-written book. Its importance lies in its effort to build a bridge between the contemporary historical scholarship and the wide-ranging and free-wheeling debates by philosophers and political theorists, and in its contribution to the heated debate about our 'usable'—and abusable—past."—Donald R. Kelley, Rutgers University