Pragmatic Liberalism Constructing a Civil Society

This book calls for a pragmatic approach to contemporary U.S. Social problems, stressing workable outcomes regardless of their ideological origin, be they conservative, pluralistic, or radical. The policy analysis, grounded in social science research, claims that there is a broad cultural consensus on American values and a public willingness to help others in need. This critique of the three dominant ideologies extracts ideas, approaches, policies, and programs from each and proposes an eclectic 'outcomes' perspective rooted in American pragmatism.

Albert Hunter is professor of Sociology at Northwestern University. Hunter has published numerous books and articles, including Symbolic Communities (1974) and Multimethod Research (1989). Carl Milofsky is Professor of Sociology at Bucknell University and author of Community Organizations (1988) among others.