Customer Reviews

Principles of Group Solidarity (California Series on Social Choice and Political Economy)

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The Lewis review makes some good points, but unless you can recommend a book that does everything Hechter does and more, then this is essential reading for everyone interested in the topic.

Hechter's text is a good beginning to the problem of solidarity, but it lacks the completeness that is needed in this field. For instance, there is a notable lack of generalizability beyond the human animal. Additionally, all of the evidence Hechter musters come from artificial groups, rather than natural ones; it is not easy to see how his principles might apply to certain naturally occurring groups. Hecther also leaves out a discussion of emotion in solidarity--a point that seems necessary to include. Finally, while Hechter spends some time on the problem of freeriders, he never really solves the dilemma. In fact, it is difficult to see how his theory can adequately deal with this vital issue.

But the good thing is that Hechter does lay a foundation for further study of this important topic. Hechter quite correctly elevates the issue of solidarity to a central place in sociology. The use of a tempered rational choice approach is nicely reasoned and given just due. All in all, this is a must read for those wishing to begin studying the problem of solidarity, but it is just that--a beginning point.