Charon, Chapter 6 - "Are Human Beings Free?"

1)  What limitations to freedom does Charon outline?

2) How then can we critique the classical liberal theorists notion of freedom?

3) How might Tocqueville and Durkheim conceive of freedom?

4)  Are human beings free?

Bauman, Chapter 1
 
 How, according to Bauman, was moral indifference socially produced in Nazi Germany?  Be sure to mention what he means by moral indifference.

How, according to Bauman, was moral invisibility produced in Nazi Germany?  (Be sure to say what he means by moral invisibility)

Ritzer - "McDonaldization"

1) What are the 5 dimensions of rationalization/McDonaldization?

2) What were the ends (goals) of the Nazi organization?  What were some of the means?

3) Based on the 5 dimensions of rationalization, how rationalized was the Nazi organization? (Explain for each of the 5 dimensions)

4) Now pick a contemporary U.S. or multinational corporation or industry that you are somewhat familiar with.  What are the ends of this corporation/industry?  Some of the means?

5) How rationalized is this corporation/industry?  (Explain for each of the 5 dimensions)

6) What safeguards are there in contemporary society to protect against the most vile irrationalities of rationality?

7) What are 4 positive outcomes of rationalization?  4 negative ones? (Use back)

Bellah, Chapter 1

Which subject is your group describing? ________________________________________

Where does s/he find meaning? (or how define "the good life"?)

How does s/he define freedom, success, and/or justice?  (feel free to speculate)

How and why do you think s/he has "constructed" such a reality?

What are the limitations of such a perspective?

Bellah, Chapter 2

1)  Outline each of the 4 central strands of American culture.  Be sure to include each strand's conception of freedom, success, and justice?

2)  What are the qualities (and name) of the older "representative character" in the US that Tocqueville saw?  How does this character map onto the 4 strands of culture? (For an explanation of "representative character" see p. 39.)

3)  What are the names and characteristics of the 3 contemporary "representative characters" in the US?  How do they map onto the 4 strands of culture?

4)  What explains the shift from the old to the new representative characters?  What are the consequences of this shift?

Putnam, "America's Declining Social Capital"

1) What evidence does Putnam use to show that social capital is declining?

2) What potential countertrends does he identify and why doesn’t he think they can make up for the social capital lost in other ways?

3) What possible explanations does he offer for why social capital is declining in the US?  Which ones does he think are more important and why?

4) How might Robert Bellah explain the decline of social capital and public trust?