In this second volume of Main Currents of Sociological Thought, Raymond Aron continues the analysis, begun in the first volume, of the "great doctrines of historical sociol-ogy." Aron explores the work of three figures who profoundly shaped sociology as it entered the twentieth century: Emile Durkheim, the great French theorist of consensus, who continued Auguste Comte's quest for a science of society and a scientific validation of morality; Vilfredo Pareto, the Italian "neo-Machiavellian" who mocked traditional mo-rality and humanitarian pretensions and emphasized the oligarchic or elitist character of all societies; and the German sociologist Max Weber, who reflected continuously on the relationship between science and action, filled with deep foreboding about the pros-pects for human freedom in an age marked by bureaucratization and rationalization. Aron presents rich portraits of these three thinkers, drawing from them what remains of enduring worth, even as he distances himself from Durkheim's project for a science of society, Pareto's exaggerated critique of humanitarianism, and Weber's tragic pessimism. Aron's book is essential for clarifying his profound indebtedness to and crucial divergences from the thought of Max Weber, the sociologist par excellence, in Aron's view. Together with volume 1, which treats the work of Montesquieu, Comte, Marx, and Tocqueville, it forms the definitive survey of the great social thinkers to date. Yet, as Daniel J. Mahoney and Brian C. Anderson explain in their introduction, Main Currents is more than a survey; it is above all a challenge to contemporary social science to retain the ambition of an older, philosophically informed sociology to present an interpretation of modern society and to reflect on the meaning of universal history.

“This book, Sociological Thought: In the Light of J. Krishnamurti’s Philosophy, is an exceptional and brilliant contribution of the author whom I consider as a unique academic intellectual of contemporary times. I am sure no one in the academic sphere has so far attempted to explain Social Thought the way the author has analyzed and presented.” G. Satyanarayana, Emeritus professor of Sociology at Osmania University, Hyderabad. This book first covers the basic ideas in Sociological Thought from Comte to postmodernism. It comprehensively discusses Marx, Weber, Durkheim and Parsons, giving prominent place to Marx. It then takes Thought to its philosophical roots and also widens it by bringing in Kant, Nietzsche and Freud. Why J. Krishnamurti here? Well, that is a way of bringing the Buddha to the discussion.

Designed as a first-line introductory text to the study of sociological thought, this book is now considered a classic in the field and is a top seller in the Third World for university courses in sociological theory. The perspective is cross-cultural. The main currents of sociological thought, says the authors, advanced by the founders and the later masters represent different times, various cultural contexts and the many intellectual cross current representatives of each's time period. Rigorously defined (and not necessarily appropriately), these early thoughts were merely ideas rather than soundly constructed theories for building blocks of theoretical development. They provide insights into and perspectives on the structure and functioning of social systems and the conceptual frameworks for their systematic analysis. The history of sociology, then, is the history of social thought. This volume provides a carefully constructed look into the emerging social thought of the twentieth century as reflected in the emerging discipline of sociology.