Membership and Morals (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The moment we begin to conjure up associations-Jaycees or the Michigan militia, homeowners' associations or the Mormon Church-we see difficulties with what has emerged as..." (more)
Key Phrases: fusion republicanism, joyless polity, liberal democratic dispositions, First Amendment, United States, Second Amendment (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Membership and Morals is a thoughtful, challenging, and carefully nuanced book that should be read by all serious scholars of civil society. -- Review

Review

Nancy L. Rosenblum in Membership and Morals has produced a powerful argument that the worriers have got it wrong--or at least they have chosen the wrong things to worry about.... Part of the attractiveness of her thesis is that it purports to cut across the usual lines of political battle.... The bulk of her book is made up of an impressive survey of the hard cases of social affiliation ... and her defense in every case of the rights of people in a democratic society to associate with those of like mind and belief.
(James Bowman The Times Literary Supplement )

Political theory, moral philosophy, and constitutional law desperately require a rigorous analysis of the role associations ought to play in sustaining good society. Such an analysis is precisely Nancy Rosenblum's great accomplishment.
(Alan Wolfe The New Republic )

Membership and Morals is a thoughtful, challenging, and carefully nuanced book that should be read by all serious scholars of civil society.
(Claire Morgan The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 425 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (May 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691050236
• ISBN-13: 978-0691050232
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #896,468 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A thorough treatment of association, January 17, 2005

By	Pudge "el_aguacil" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

The Constitutional guarantee of free association has received disappointingly little attention from the academic world. This book and Amy Gutmann's "Freedom of Association" remain the only serious academic works devoted to this fascinating issue. Of the two Gutmann's book is superior, but one is better off reading both books if one wishes to have any meaningful understanding of this issue. Whereas Gutmann's book prefers to grapple with the difficulties and dangers inherent in this much-cherished freedom, "Membership and Morals" deals more directly with the nature of association and the various forms it takes. Rather than survey various issues related to association, Rosenblum writes a unitary work which argues that freedom of association is a necessary and valuable part of society. Though at times she overstates her case and makes association out to be a panacea for nearly everything which ails society, her book is nonetheless not to be taken lightly. She offers many important insights into the ways in which association influences society, and presents a strong case for taking freedom of association more seriously. One should find this book usually convincing and always engaging and well-articulated.