Synopsis
This is the first part of a three-volume work on the nature of power in human societies. In it, Michael Mann identifies the four principal 'sources' of power as being control over economic, ideological, military, and political resources. He examines the interrelations between these in a narrative history of power from Neolithic times, through ancient Near Eastern civilisations, the classical Mediterranean age, and medieval Europe, up to just before the Industrial Revolution in England. Rejecting the conventional monolithic concept of a 'society', Dr. Mann's model is instead one of a series of overlapping, intersecting power networks. He makes this model operational by focusing on the logistics of power - how the flow of information, manpower, and goods is controlled over social and geographical space-thereby clarifying many of the 'great debates' in sociological theory. The present volume offers explanations of the emergence of the state and social stratification.
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Book Description
This study of the nature of power in human societies identifies the four principal "sources" of power as being control over economic, ideological, military and political resources. The author examines inter-relations between these elements from neolithic times, through ancient Near Eastern civilizations, the classical Mediterranean age, and medieval Europe, up to just before the Industrial Revolution in England.
Review
"...a unique brand of historical sociology that is refreshingly iconoclastic, remarkably complex, and breathtakingly ambitious....a must-read for comparative and historical sociologists." Philip S. Gorski, Contemporary Sociology
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The Sources of Social Power Vol. 1 : A History of Power from the Beginning to A. D. 1760
Published by
Cambridge University Press, 1986
ISBN 10: 0521308518
ISBN 13: 9780521308519
Used
Hardcover
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
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Condition: Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP71755344