The Power Conundrum

Human society can be analyzed as a system, and systems follow logic which can be dissected and characterized. This is the approach author Stephen Shaw takes to understanding the complexities of human culture in general and to grappling with the many challenges and problems facing today's world.The Power Conundrum: Exploring the Puzzle of How to Reclaim a Democracy presents an overview of the logic that governs and explains the makeup of society. In the course of this the book zeros in...
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Human society can be analyzed as a system, and systems follow logic which can be dissected and characterized. This is the approach author Stephen Shaw takes to understanding the complexities of human culture in general and to grappling with the many challenges and problems facing today's world.The Power Conundrum: Exploring the Puzzle of How to Reclaim a Democracy presents an overview of the logic that governs and explains the makeup of society. In the course of this the book zeros in on patterns and processes that influence the distribution of power in a society and how these factors are decisive in the success or failure of democratic governance.The book's chapters form an arc from theory on how society works, to a survey of key cultural dynamics, to the logic that underlies social change itself. Interest in the fate of human civilization is reaching a crescendo as a growing list of threats to our well-being are identified and discussed. The Power Conundrum falls squarely in the center of this dialogue, contributing fresh ideas and new conceptual tools to the conversation.