Political Man: The Social Bases of Politics

by Seymour Martin Lipset

Excerpt from Political Man



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Genres: Sociology, Politics, Political Science, Nonfiction, History, Philosophy

436 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Seymour Martin Lipset was an American political sociologist, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and the Hazel Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University. His major work was in the fields of political sociology, trade union organization, social stratification, public opinion, and the sociology of intellectual life. He also wrote extensively about the conditions for democracy in comparative perspective.

Reviews

[Horus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, printed in 1963 is vastly out of date, and I would be deeply intested in an update to current times with the changes since the end of the cold war. This is an excellently written and argued treatise on the sociology of democracy as seen in the 1950's. Some of the theories are likely just as valid now as then; I reference the chapter on the sociology of voting and voting apathy as an example. I really wish this had been required reading in my political theory courses in University. Anyone wishing to more deeply understand the theory of democracy and how it really functions (as opposed to how it should or how we might wish it to function) should read this book.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though I'm not a proponent of the modernization theory, Lipset does put forward a helpful system of classifications of various nations across Eurasia and Latin America, during the third wave of democratization. The key information for me was the author's analysis of individual elements of social, economic, and political realities of individual nations during this time period, and their relation to the governing system itself, together with its indication for the transitions/transformations, that were yet to come.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

All encompassing consideration of Political/Electoral Behaviour with very interesting insights in trends that originated in the time of writing and have unfolded further nowadays. Particularly of interest was the "End of Ideology" debate that is discussed in the final chapters, nonetheless throughout the whole book the author elaborates on many important topic that concern political science and the sociological bases of ideology, elections and democracy in general. A classic book and a must for every student of political science.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was assigned reading for the U.S. Government and Democracy class required for graduation from Maine Township High School South in Park Ridge, Illinois, along with Lipset's The First New Nation. Being myself a YPSL at the time, his arguments for the relationship between economic surplus and democratic governance were quite congenial.

[Tidar Rachmadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the basic for understanding and seeing what politics made of. That intellectual personas, democracy, elections, and everything you wanna know about politics is bravely explained here. Esp if you have desire in learning America's political. This really a complete one to guide you to be in poliical business.

[Jia Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personally speaking, it is no doubt that this book is among the best ones talking about politics. It introduces and analyzes various institutions and their status and tendencies. It is worth for reading more times.

[Hansen Wetsel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to find a better primer on the fundamental cleavages of Western political culture.

[Henrique De · Rating 5 out of 5]

Livro excelente. vi muitas pessoas falando da idade avançada e de dados desatualizados e isso é óbvio, não deveria nem ser levado em conta. e mesmo sendo dados desatualizados, se você fizer um julgamento do que de fato está sendo apresentado é enriquecedor.

Dito isso, Lipset escreve com maestria, um dos melhores sociólogos da sua geração, extramemente 'thorough' e 'adroit' em suas análises. conseguiu de muitas maneiras trazer autores dos mais diversos campos da sociologia e ciência política para reforçar seus argumentos, de Theodor Geiger a Gino Germani.

Mesmo sendo um livro antigo, primeira versão de 1960, as ideias ainda são atuais, como o conceito de 'cross pressure'. o tipo de escrita, a forma de tecer as ideias me parece algo perdido nos tempos atuais.

[Agung · Rating 4 out of 5]

Foundational to the discipline of political sociology as it is, this book is very much out of date. I read the first two chapters and the last one, and then skimmed the rest. Modern students still need to read the summary of this book, but there's no need to read the entirety of it

[Nuno Afonso · Rating 2 out of 5]

Muito antigo, entendem-se os princípios gerais mas os dados apresentados têm, em alguns casos, quase 100 anos. Desactualizado, apenas uma referência, mas para não ser utilizado como base de um estudo actual.

[Yuran · Rating 1 out of 5]

Vastly out of date. Not a bad book, but only for freshman students.

[Tobi ﾄﾋﾞ · Rating 3 out of 5]

even though the book touches on fascinating subjects, it could benefit from a more cohesive structure and deeper exploration. The author introduces thought-provoking concepts, making it a decent starting point for those curious about the topic. However, a more comprehensive analysis and clearer organization would greatly enhance its value for readers seeking a deeper understanding, however i do believe this is a must read for people studying development, relations, politics or sociology

[Philippe Duhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a great deal about American politics. Things I should have already known.

[Ershui · Rating 4 out of 5]

where the formal theory comes from