Cambridge Scholars Publishing The Quest for a Liberal-Socialist Democracy and Development: Against the Behemoth

This book explains why elective affinity exists between democratic and non-democratic ideologies and why liberal socialism as a compromise between liberalism and socialism did not succeed in the 20th century. As is shown here, the main reason for such affinity is the self-incurred immaturity of both ideologies. Although both concepts diverged from the beginning, as contenders in the political scene, they gradually became more antagonistic and self-contained. Furthermore, the idea of the self-production of both liberalism and socialism system absorbed their democratic potential and expanded the elective affinity toward authoritarian ideologies and regimes. The book also provides a set of policies of liberal socialism that may serve to remove the liabilities of liberalism and socialism as separate ideologies and policies and produce conditions for democratic and economically sustainable development. About the Author Vjeran Katunarić is a Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Zadar, Croatia. He has previously served as Director of the National Report on Cultural Policy of Croatia (1997-1999) and the Strategy of Cultural Development of Croatia (2000-2002), and as a cultural policy expert, consultant, and rapporteur of the Council of Europe. He is a recipient of the Order of the Croatian Danica and received an award from the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia. His publications include External Migration and Changes in the Family (1978), Dialectics and Sociology (1986), Decomposition of Society (1988), The Labyrinth of Evolution (1994), The Pathways of Modern Societies: the Challenge of Historical Sociology (2013), and Heavenly Community and Societal Hell: Sociological Essays (2014), among others.