The Death of Communal Liberty: A History of Freedom in a Swiss Mountain Canton

Benjamin R. Barber

msi 2015 · Princeton University Press

À propos de cet e-book

Switzerland today is faced with a profound dilemma—its village life is dying, a casualty of the collision between communal norms and the need for national survival in an industrial, urbanizing world. Benjamin Barber traces the origins and evolution of communal liberty in the group of alpine villages that make up modern Canton Graubunden, and recreates their poignant thousand-year struggle to maintain this tradition in the face of a hostile environment, hierarchical feudal institutions, and European power polities.

Originally published in 1974.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

À propos de l'auteur

Benjamin Reynolds Barber was born in Manhattan, New York on August 2, 1939. He received a bachelor's degree in political science from Grinnell College in 1960 and a master's degree in government in 1963 and a doctorate in 1966 from Harvard University. In 1969, he began teaching political science at Rutgers University, where he was the director of the Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy for many years. In 2001, he joined the University of Maryland as the Kekst Professor of Civil Society. He was a political theorist and author. His books included Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age, The Conquest of Politics: Liberal Philosophy in Democratic Times, Jihad vs. McWorld: How Globalism and Tribalism Are Reshaping the World, The Truth of Power: Intellectual Affairs in the Clinton White House, Fear's Empire: War, Terrorism and Democracy, If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities, and Cool Cities: Urban Sovereignty and the Fix for Global Warming. In addition to his books, Barber was a frequent contributor to several magazines including The Atlantic, Harper's Magazine, and The New York Times. In 1974, he helped found the journal Political Theory, which he edited for the next decade. He coauthored the prize-winning, ten-part PBS/CBC television series The Struggle for Democracy. He died from pancreatic cancer on April 24, 2017 at the age of 77.