Mentioned in The Observer
(Oliver Marre
Observer )
Mentioned in The Jewish Chronicle, October 2007
(
The Jewish Chronicle, USA )
Mentioned in The Times, October 2007
(
The Times )
"He [Sacks] argues like an expert dancer, leading his audience through a waltz of lilting reasonableness"—Rafael Behr, Observer
(Rafael Behr
Observer )
Title mention in Jewish News, 2007
(Charlie Wolf, Jewish News )
Title mention in Jewish Chronicle, 2007
"A deeply philosophical, yet extremely hard-hitting book..."
Doreen Wachmann, Jewish Telegraph
(Doreen Wachmann, Jewish Telegraph )
Title mention in an article by Jonathan Sacks in The Times, October 2007
(
Times )
Extract from the book used in an article by Jonathan Sacks in The Times, October 2007
(
Times )
"British Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks is the premier public intellectual of Judaism in the English-speaking world and has no obvious counterpart in the communities of Judaism conducted in other languages. No one in Israeli intellectual life competes.
This book joins with its predecessors...to form an oeuvre of moral authority and compelling logic. For a corpus of writing substantially less ambitious than this some have received the Nobel Prize." —Jerusalem Post
Title mention in The Sunday Telegraph, December 2007
Sacks, an award-winning author and the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Britain and the Commonwealth, painstakingly presents a history of the breakdown of civil society as well as a compelling philosophy with which to restore civility to British government and daily life. Global communications technology deteriorates our sense of national identity, he states here, while multiculturalism exacerbates the situation by encouraging social fragmentation, especially along religious lines. We have created a "society as hotel," in which individualism and compartmentalization are the rule of the day. By participating in a social covenant devoted to the common good, we can create society as the "home we build together," a society in which we are integrated but not assimilated and in which we all invest of ourselves to support the whole. Sacks's arguments are compelling, as is his analysis of the advent and results of the multiculturist movement. While applicable to most Western democracies, this work is firmly rooted in British sociopolitical concerns and is written in an approachable but scholarly style. Recommended for academic or larger public libraries.
—Library Journal
(
Library Journal )
Interview with author and title mention in Church of England Newspaper, January 2008
"This is Jonathan Sacks' new book on the future of British society and the dangers facing liberal democracy. A counterweight to his earlier book, "The Dignity of Difference", Sacks makes the case for "integrated diversity" within a framework of shared political values. Arguing that global communications have fragmented national cultures and that multiculturalism, intended to reduce social friction, is today reinforcing it, Sacks calls for a new approach to national identity. He envisions a responsibility-based rather than rights-based model of citizenship that connects the ideas of giving and belonging. We should see society as "the home we build together", bringing the distinctive gifts of different groups to the common good. Sacks warns of the hazards free and open societies face in the 21st century, and offers an unusual religious defense of liberal democracy and the nation state.
This logical sequel to Sacks' award-winning "The Dignity of Difference" (Continuum), "The Home We Build Together" makes a compelling case for "integrated diversity" within a framework of shared political values. Some of the chapters deal with A Brief History of Multiculturalism, Technology and The Fragmentation of Culture, Loss of Moral Consensus, Losing Confidence, The Breakdown of The Family, Faith in Freedom, The Concept of a Social Covenant, A Religious Defense of Liberal Democracy, Active Citizenship, The Jewish Experience, Tolerance, In Defense of The Nation State, Social Capital, Bilingualism and others. An excellent and intelligent study of modern society. -Jewish Media Review
Title mention in the Telegraph, 2007
Title reviewed by David Martin in The Tablet, January 2008.
"In this important book, Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi — widely recognised in this country as a public intellectual — addresses a crucial theme: how can we honour the diversity now present in Britain without losing that which holds us together?"
Reviewed by Grace Davie in Church Times, May 2008
"In this environment, it is an imperative that we honor Rabbi Sacks' message. The Home We Build Together is thus an essential read for all of us, and I commend Rabbi Sacks for writing it." —Sephardic Heritage Update
"Jonathan Sacks adds his influential voice to those who want to see an end to multiculturalism"
David Miller, Times Literary Supplement, 11 February 2008
Mentioned in The Observer
(,
Observer )
Mentioned in The Jewish Chronicle, October 2007
(, )
Mentioned in The Times, October 2007
(, )
"He [Sacks] argues like an expert dancer, leading his audience through a waltz of lilting reasonableness"—Rafael Behr, Observer
(,
Observer )
Title mention in Jewish News, 2007
(, )
"A deeply philosophical, yet extremely hard-hitting book..."
Doreen Wachmann, Jewish Telegraph
(, )
"British Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks is the premier public intellectual of Judaism in the English-speaking world and has no obvious counterpart in the communities of Judaism conducted in other languages. No one in Israeli intellectual life competes.
This book joins with its predecessors...to form an oeuvre of moral authority and compelling logic. For a corpus of writing substantially less ambitious than this some have received the Nobel Prize." –Jerusalem Post
“This is Jonathan Sacks' new book on the future of British society and the dangers facing liberal democracy. A counterweight to his earlier book, "The Dignity of Difference", Sacks makes the case for "integrated diversity" within a framework of shared political values. Arguing that global communications have fragmented national cultures and that multiculturalism, intended to reduce social friction, is today reinforcing it, Sacks calls for a new approach to national identity. He envisions a responsibility-based rather than rights-based model of citizenship that connects the ideas of giving and belonging. We should see society as "the home we build together", bringing the distinctive gifts of different groups to the common good. Sacks warns of the hazards free and open societies face in the 21st century, and offers an unusual religious defense of liberal democracy and the nation state.
This logical sequel to Sacks' award-winning "The Dignity of Difference" (Continuum), "The Home We Build Together" makes a compelling case for "integrated diversity" within a framework of shared political values. Some of the chapters deal with A Brief History of Multiculturalism, Technology and The Fragmentation of Culture, Loss of Moral Consensus, Losing Confidence, The Breakdown of The Family, Faith in Freedom, The Concept of a Social Covenant, A Religious Defense of Liberal Democracy, Active Citizenship, The Jewish Experience, Tolerance, In Defense of The Nation State, Social Capital, Bilingualism and others. An excellent and intelligent study of modern society. -Jewish Media Review
“In this environment, it is an imperative that we honor Rabbi Sacks’ message. The Home We Build Together is thus an essential read for all of us, and I commend Rabbi Sacks for writing it.” —Sephardic Heritage Update
"Multiculturalism has run its course and it is time to move on." So begins Jonathan Sacks' new book on the future of British society and the dangers facing liberal democracy.
Arguing that global communications have fragmented national cultures and that multiculturalism, intended to reduce social frictions, is today reinforcing them, Sacks argues for a new approach to national identity. We cannot stay with current policies that are producing a society of conflicting ghettoes and non-intersecting lives, turning religious bodies into pressure groups rather than society-building forces.
Sacks maintains that we will have to construct a national narrative as a basis for identity, reinvigorate the concept of the common good, and identify shared interests among currently conflicting groups. It must restore a culture of civility, protect "neutral spaces" from politicization, and find ways of moving beyond an adversarial culture in which the loudest voice wins. He proposes a responsibility-based, rather than rights-based, model of citizenship that connects the ideas of giving and belonging.
Offering a new paradigm to replace previous models of assimilation on the one hand, multiculturalism on the other, he argues that we should see society as "the home we build together," bringing the distinctive gifts of different goups to society as a whole, and not only to our particular subsection of it.
Sacks warns of the hazards free and open societies face in the twenty-first century, and offers an unusual religious defense of liberal democracy and the nation state. A counterweight to his earlier The Dignity of Difference, Sacks makes the case for "integrated diversity" within a framework of shared political views.
