The Protestant Establishment
Title | The Protestant Establishment PDF eBook |
Author | Edward Digby Baltzell |
Publisher | Yale University Press |
Pages | 454 |
Release | 1987-01-01 |
Genre | Social Science |
ISBN | 9780300038187 |
This classic account of the traditional upper class in America traces its origins, lifestyles, and political and social attitudes from the time of Theodore Roosevelt to that of John F. Kennedy. Sociologist E. Digby Baltzell describes the problems of exclusion and prejudice within the community of white Anglo-Saxon Protestants (or WASPs, an acronym he coined) and predicts with amazing accuracy what will happen when this inbred group is forced to share privilege and power with talented members of minority groups. "The book may actually hold more interest today than when it was first published. New generations of readers can resonate all the more to this masterly and beautifully written work that provides sociological understanding of its engrossing subject."--Robert K. Merton, Columbia University "The documentation and illustration in the book make it valuable as social history, quite apart from any theoretical hypothesis. As such, it sketches the rise of the WASP penchant for country clubs, patriotic societies and genealogy. It traces the history of anti-Semitism in America. It describes the intellectual conflict between Social Darwinism and the environmental social science founded half a century ago by men like John Dewey, Charles A. Beard, Thorstein Veblen, Franz Boas and Frederick Jackson Turner. In short, The Protestant Establishment is a wide-ranging, intelligent and provocative book."--Alvin Toffler, New York Times Book Review "The Protestant Establishment has many virtues that lift it above the level we have come to expect in works of contemporary social and cultural analysis. It is clearly and convincingly written."--H. Stuart Hughes, New York Review of Books "What makes Baltzell's analysis of the evolution of the American elite superior to the accounts of earlier writers . . . is that he exposes the connections between high social status and political and economic power."--Dennis H. Wrong, Commentary
The Protestant Establishment Revisited
Title | The Protestant Establishment Revisited PDF eBook |
Author | E. Digby Baltzell |
Publisher | Routledge |
Pages | 359 |
Release | 2017-07-12 |
Genre | Social Science |
ISBN | 1351475959 |
In the latter half of the twentieth century, The American upper class has become less like an aristocracy governing and guiding the nation and more like a caste, a privileged and closed body whose contribution to national leadership has steadily declined. This loss of power and authority has been the focus of the work of E. Digby Baltzell, whose 1964 work, The Protestant Establishment, analyzed the fate and function of a predominantly Anglo-Saxon and Protestant upper class in an ethnically and religiously heterogeneous democracy. After 27 years, Baltzell's theory of the structure and function of the establishment remains unique in the literature of class stratification and authority. Baltzell views an open and authoritative establishment as a necessary and desirable part of the process of securing responsible leaders in a democratic society. Such an establishment is the product of upper-class institutions that are open to talented individuals of varying ethnic and social backgrounds. The values of upper-class tradition include an aristocratic ethos emphasizing the duty to lead, as opposed to the snobbish ethos of caste that emphasizes only the right to privilege. Baltzell regards this as a protector of freedom in modern democratic societies, guaranteeing rules of fair play in contests of power and opinion. As Baltzell points out, historically, the alternatives to rule by establishments have been, rule by functionaries and demogogues, neither of which has proven satisfactory in protecting freedoms. As against Marxists, who see hegemony as a social evil, Baltzell, following Tocqueville, sees it as necessary to the well-being of society. Hegemonic establishments give coherence to the social spheres of greatest contest. They do not eliminate conflict, but prevent it from ripping society apart. Baltzell's work provides uncommon insight into the relationship of social class and personal power in contemporary America. This book will be of inte
The Protestant Establishment Revisited
Title | The Protestant Establishment Revisited PDF eBook |
Author | Edward Digby Baltzell |
Publisher | Transaction Pub |
Pages | 300 |
Release | 1999-01-01 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 9780765806642 |
In the latter half of the twentieth century, The American upper class has become less like an aristocracy governing and guiding the nation and more like a caste, a privileged and closed body whose contribution to national leadership has steadily declined. This loss of power and authority has been the focus of the work of E. Digby Baltzell, whose 1964 work, The Protestant Establishment, analyzed the fate and function of a predominantly Anglo-Saxon and Protestant upper class in an ethnically and religiously heterogeneous democracy. After 27 years, Baltzell's theory of the structure and function of the establishment remains unique in the literature of class stratification and authority. Baltzell views an open and authoritative establishment as a necessary and desirable part of the process of securing responsible leaders in a democratic society. Such an establishment is the product of upper-class institutions that are open to talented individuals of varying ethnic and social backgrounds. The values of upper-class tradition include an aristocratic ethos emphasizing the duty to lead, as opposed to the snobbish ethos of caste that emphasizes only the right to privilege. Baltzell regards this as a protector of freedom in modern democratic societies, guaranteeing rules of fair play in contests of power and opinion. As Baltzell points out, historically, the alternatives to rule by establishments have been, rule by functionaries and demogogues, neither of which has proven satisfactory in protecting freedoms. As against Marxists, who see hegemony as a social evil, Baltzell, following Tocqueville, sees it as necessary to the well-being of society. Hegemonic establishments give coherence to the social spheres of greatest contest. They do not eliminate conflict, but prevent it from ripping society apart. Baltzell's work provides uncommon insight into the relationship of social class and personal power in contemporary America. This book will be of interest to sociologists, political scientists, historians of urban life, and American studies specialists.
The protestant establishment
Title | The protestant establishment PDF eBook |
Author | Edward Digby Baltzell |
Publisher | |
Pages | 0 |
Release | 1964 |
Genre | Protestants |
ISBN |
Sociological study of the alleged decline of the traditional "open society" in America into a closed caste system controlled by a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant group.
The Soul of the American University
Title | The Soul of the American University PDF eBook |
Author | George M. Marsden |
Publisher | Oxford University Press, USA |
Pages | 482 |
Release | 1994 |
Genre | Education, Higher |
ISBN | 0195106504 |
Explores the decline in religious influence in American universities, discussing why this transformation has occurred.
The Protestant Establishment
Title | The Protestant Establishment PDF eBook |
Author | E. Digby Baltzell |
Publisher | |
Pages | 429 |
Release | 1981-11 |
Genre | |
ISBN | 9780374903701 |
The Protestant Establishment
Title | The Protestant Establishment PDF eBook |
Author | E. Digby Baltzell |
Publisher | |
Pages | 429 |
Release | 1966 |
Genre | |
ISBN |