In the 1990s, Western politics began to be influenced by a "Third Way" that sought a middle path between libertarianism and big-government liberalism. No thinker was more integral to this "communitarian" movement than sociologist Etzioni (The Monochrome Society). This book is as much a memoir of the movement as of the author's life—the style is strictly social policyese, and Etzioni's personal life gets relatively cursory mention. A refugee as a child from Nazi Germany, Etzioni was raised in Israel and came to the U.S. in 1957 to do graduate work at Berkeley. His early career was marked by tension between his academic and activist sides—while Etzioni's activism was often cogent, it sometimes went against prevailing trends, as with his early opposition to the Vietnam war, nuclear arms and the space race. The book drifts until Etzioni begins to craft a genuine social movement whose rise coincided with (and helped effect) the elections of Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and Gerhard Schröder, all sympathetic to the program. While Bush's "compassionate conservatism" initially appeared to be in line with communitarian thinking, says Etzioni, his administration has abandoned it in favor of a more divisive approach, even as American society post–September 11 rushes to embrace the essence of communitarian values.Wavering between false modesty and barely restrained boastfulness throughout, Etzioni scatters (mostly) approving quotations about his books and ideas. Still, this serious volume provides both a useful portrait of a public intellectual and the essence of a movement that may define public discourse in the coming years. (May)
