Res Publica, Res Privata

This article examines the problem of the public and the private in terms of culture and social organization. Two strategies for building societal structures are distinguished: the bottom-up and the top-down. More specifically, the liberal and the Marxist-Leninist solutions are discussed. It is claim...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International political science review 1991-10, Vol.12 (4), p.337-351
Main Author: Kaminski, Antoni Z.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Communism
Culture
Despotism
Ethnic ethos
Liberalism
Middle class
Political freedom
Political institutions
Privacy
Public
Public life
Social life
Social order
Sociology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This article examines the problem of the public and the private in terms of culture and social organization. Two strategies for building societal structures are distinguished: the bottom-up and the top-down. More specifically, the liberal and the Marxist-Leninist solutions are discussed. It is claimed that only in the first case is the term "public interest" meaningful, although some elements in the organization of the liberal social order undermine the cultural norms and values of public life. The cultural aspect is examined in terms of value systems supportive of the public life and of the concept of a middle class, interpreted as a category of political anthropology, embodying its cultural ethos. /// L'article étudie les domaines du privé et du public en termes de culture et d'organisation. Deux stratégies de la structuration sociale s'opposent l'une à l'autre selon qu'on procède du haut vers le bas, ou vice versa. C'est dans ce deuxième cas seulement qu'on peut parler d'intérêt public, même si certains éléments du régime libéral sapent les normes culturelles du domaine public. La notion de classe moyenne apparaît comme une catégorie anthropologique porteuse d'une éthique culturelle spécifique.
ISSN:0192-5121
1460-373X
DOI:10.1177/019251219101200406