Who is America’s most important president? Unsurprisingly, the liberal media ranked Donald Trump close to the bottom. In fact, Trump arguably competes for the top slot. The reason for this is that his presidency was foundationally concerned with the nature of America itself, and what the America of the future will be like. Will America continue to be America, or will it morph into something very different, into a liberal coalition of weird minority groups that have no love of American history and the conventional idea of what it is to be an American, and no physical resemblance to the Americans of old. Trump brought to light the decisive issue of our times – how to define America. Should a nation be defined by inclusion, as liberals want, or by exclusion, as conservatives desire. When you strip back all of the squabbles between the Democrats and the Republicans, the liberals and the conservatives, you arrive at one theme, endlessly repeated: should the “Other” be regarded as a friend we haven’t met yet, as someone we need to embrace as rapidly, warmly and fully as possible (as the liberals would have it), or as an enemy we have luckily avoided thus far, as someone we actively need to shut out, as rapidly, coldly and comprehensively as possible (as the conservatives would have it). Is the Other to be included or excluded? It’s that simple. Or that complex. People who think this question has an easy answer are deluded. To welcome or not to welcome the Other comes down to where a person stands on the subject of sameness versus difference. Is difference always an enemy, a threat, and sameness always non-threatening, a friend? Or is difference the means by which we make progress and sameness something regressive? So, here we all here. Whither America? Will America look anything like itself a hundred years from now? Or will it seem like a different country, a country unrecognizable to conservatives? It’s all to play for. Who will win the Clusion Wars? To include or to exclude, that is the definitive question of our times.

Who is America's most important president? Unsurprisingly, the liberal media ranked Donald Trump close to the bottom. In fact, Trump arguably competes for the top slot. The reason for this is that his presidency was foundationally concerned with the nature of America itself, and what the America of the future will be like. Will America continue to be America, or will it morph into something very different, into a liberal coalition of weird minority groups that have no love of American history and the conventional idea of what it is to be an American, and no physical resemblance to the Americans of old. Trump brought to light the decisive issue of our times – how to define America. Should a nation be defined by inclusion, as liberals want, or by exclusion, as conservatives desire. When you strip back all of the squabbles between the Democrats and the Republicans, the liberals and the conservatives, you arrive at one theme, endlessly repeated: should the "Other" be regarded as a friend we haven't met yet, as someone we need to embrace as rapidly, warmly and fully as possible (as the liberals would have it), or as an enemy we have luckily avoided thus far, as someone we actively need to shut out, as rapidly, coldly and comprehensively as possible (as the conservatives would have it). Is the Other to be included or excluded? It's that simple. Or that complex. People who think this question has an easy answer are deluded. To welcome or not to welcome the Other comes down to where a person stands on the subject of sameness versus difference. Is difference always an enemy, a threat, and sameness always non-threatening, a friend? Or is difference the means by which we make progress and sameness something regressive? So, here we all here. Whither America? Will America look anything like itself a hundred years from now? Or will it seem like a different country, a country unrecognizable to conservatives? It's all to play for. Who will win the Clusion Wars? To include or to exclude, that is the definitive question of our times.

The idea of finding a 'third way' in politics has been widely discussed over recent months - not only in the UK, but in the US, Continental Europe and Latin America. But what is the third way? Supporters of the notion haven't been able to agree, and critics deny the possibility altogether. Anthony Giddens shows that developing a third way is not only a possibility but a necessity in modern politics.

Few discussions in modern social science have occupied as much attention as the changing nature of welfare states in western societies. Gosta Esping-Andersen, one of the most distinguished contributors to current debates on this issue, here provides a new analysis of the character and role of welfare states in the functioning of contemporary advanced western societies. Esping-Andersen distinguishes several major types of welfare state, connecting these with variations in the historical development of different western countries. Current economic processes, the author argues, such as those moving towards a post-industrial order, are not shaped by autonomous market forces but by the nature of states and state differences. Fully informed by comparative materials, this book will have great appeal to everyone working on issues of economic development and post-industrialism. Its audience will include students and academics in sociology, economics and politics.

Visions of Social Control is a wide ranging analysis of recent shifts in ideas and practices for dealing with crime and delinquency. In Great Britain, North America and Western Europe, the 1960's saw new theories and styles of social control which seemed to undermine the whole basis of the established system. Such slogans as 'decarceration' and 'division' radically changed the dominance of the prison, the power of professionals and the crime-control system itself. Stanley Cohen traces the historical roots of these apparent changes and reforms, demonstrates in detail their often paradoxical results and speculates on the whole future of social control in Western societies. He has produced an entirely original synthesis of the original literature as well as an introductory guide to the major theoreticians of social control, such as David Rothman and Michael Foucault. This is not just a book for the specialist in criminology, social problems and the sociology of deviance but raises a whole range of issues of much wider interest to the social sciences. A concluding chapter on the practical and policy implications of the analysis is of special relevance to social workers and other practitioners. This is an indispensable book for anyone who wants to make sense of the bewildering recent shifts in ideology and policy towards crime - and to understand the broader sociological implications of the study of social control.

How insurgencies—enabled by digital devices and a vast information sphere—have mobilized millions of ordinary people around the world. In the words of economist and scholar Arnold Kling, Martin Gurri saw it coming. Technology has categorically reversed the information balance of power between the public and the elites who manage the great hierarchical institutions of the industrial age: government, political parties, the media. The Revolt of the Public tells the story of how insurgencies, enabled by digital devices and a vast information sphere, have mobilized millions of ordinary people around the world. Originally published in 2014, The Revolt of the Public is now available in an updated edition, which includes an extensive analysis of Donald Trump’s improbable rise to the presidency and the electoral triumphs of Brexit. The book concludes with a speculative look forward, pondering whether the current elite class can bring about a reformation of the democratic process and whether new organizing principles, adapted to a digital world, can arise out of the present political turbulence.