{"product_id":"modern-social-imaginaries","title":"Modern Social Imaginaries","description":"One of the most influential philosophers in the English-speaking world, Charles Taylor is internationally renowned for his contributions to political and moral theory, particularly to debates about identity formation, multiculturalism, secularism, and modernity. In \u003ci\u003eModern Social Imaginaries,\u003c\/i\u003e Taylor continues his recent reflections on the theme of multiple modernities. To account for the differences among modernities, Taylor sets out his idea of the social imaginary, a broad understanding of the way a given people imagine their collective social life. \u003cp\u003eRetelling the history of Western modernity, Taylor traces the development of a distinct social imaginary. Animated by the idea of a moral order based on the mutual benefit of equal participants, the Western social imaginary is characterized by three key cultural forms-the economy, the public sphere, and self-governance. Taylor’s account of these cultural formations provides a fresh perspective on how to read the specifics of Western modernity: how we came to imagine society primarily as an economy for exchanging goods and services to promote mutual prosperity, how we began to imagine the public sphere as a metaphorical place for deliberation and discussion among strangers on issues of mutual concern, and how we invented the idea of a self-governing people capable of secular “founding” acts without recourse to transcendent principles. Accessible in length and style, \u003ci\u003eModern Social Imaginaries\u003c\/i\u003e offers a clear and concise framework for understanding the structure of modern life in the West and the different forms modernity has taken around the world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Duke University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54247098974552,"sku":"9780822332930","price":25.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780822332930_91dd5df5-adcb-40b5-9773-66d7e1134522.jpg?v=1781073932","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/modern-social-imaginaries","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}