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Despite its wide currency, the term "mass society" is distinctly ambiguous. This ambiguity raises the question of the utility of the sociological concept of mass society for explaining political phenomena, specifically, the susceptibility of democratic systems to mass politics. Part 1 of the thesis attempts a precise definition of mass society using as a basis the various views of the theorists. A critical analysis of the concept is then undertaken in Part 2. Before the model is defined, however, the historical origins of the concept are examined briefly. Its roots can be traced back to the founders of Western culture. The concept of mass runs like a thread through the history of political thought reaching its zenith in the 1930's and the post-war period. Then, it was elaborated upon by such theorists as Arendt, Fromm, Kornhauser and Selznick. Since that time it has vied with class analysis as the main explanation of the rise of totalitarianism in the West. As the concept of the mass(es) was the antecedent of the theory of mass society, it is essential to define the former clearly. The masses are the atomized non-elites in society whose members are unattached, socially unstructured and undifferentiated, and distinguished by alienation and mediocrity. Complementing this notion of the mass(es) is the concept of the elite(s). They are minorities who hold positions of authority in the central institutions and control the central value systems which guide and legitimate these institutions. A model of mass society is next outlined and is contrasted with the following societal types: feudal and pluralistic. A mass society is characterized by accessible elites and available non-elites (or masses) with no group structure mediating between the two. It is this paucity of viable primary and secondary groups in mass society that distinguishes it from either a feudal or pluralistic society. The main factors contributing to the "decline of community" in mass society are rapid industrialization, rapid urbanization, bureaucratization and the development of mass culture. In Part 2, three main criticisms are levelled at the democratic (not the aristocratic) theorists of mass society. First, their analyses are a blend of empirical and normative ingredients and not, as they claim, descriptive only. Second, the concept is too imprecise and third, it is too selective to qualify for the label "scientific." More specifically, the critique takes the following form. The elitist bias of the theorists is exposed in their discussion of the elite-mass relationship. A critical examination of the notion of atomization so crucial to the theory of mass society is next undertaken. The pluralist bias of the theorists is, then, brought to light. It is argued that in their discussion of the "decline of community" in a mass society, an idealized model of pluralistic society is implicitly postulated as the norm. Their model is idealized because only positive features of such a society are incorporated into it and because it minimizes (or even ignores) such factors as the role of power, the nature of conflict, the unorganized, economic interests, the effects of strains and the consequences of cultural diversity. What emerges most clearly from this critique of the concept of mass society are the scientific pretensions of the democratic theorists. In other words, far from being an accurate, objective description of social and political reality, as they claim, the concept resembles more of an ideology riddled with their value judgments. The theory of mass society, then, is an ideological position and not a scientific concept. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

South African law recognises that the right to minerals is one of the rights of ownership of land which can be subtracted from the full dominium It was thus inevitable that the exploitation of South Africa's mineral wealth, in precious stones, precious metals and base minerals, should lead to a conflict between the interests of the owner of the land and the interests of the person, who by contract with the land owner or by law, became entitled to work the mineral deposits in such land.

<p>This study explores the link between class and political activism by examining the union and political participation of union activists in Alberta. Through a survey and selected in depth interviews, the study finds union activists are more politically active than average Canadians. It arrives at three core conclusions. First, union activists who possess a relational sense of class consciousness are more likely to engage in political activity. This class consciousness is formed and articulated out of lived experience, rather than intellectual understanding, and can be seen as an expression of a "culture of solidarity". Second, union activists experience a perceptible class divide separating them from middle class institutions of the political system. This divide can inhibit political participation. Union activists who cross the divide into middle class politics can be seen as "bridge builders", linking working class activists with middle class political culture. Third, unions can play an important role in fostering political activism among their members. Unions can influence the decision to act politically through concrete local action and framing the nature of union work in a class relational fashion. Recommendations for union strategies are offered, as well as suggestions for revitalizing progressive political organizations.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1924. / Published also without thesis note. Bibliography: p. 334-346.

After the 1990s, Japan has been deeply influenced by international trends as well as its own political and economic development. With the traditional Tenno system, Japan confronted the rapid rise and impact of the civilians' social consciousness. The change can be observed and traced back to the period after the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995, when a volunteering civic engagement started automatically and later spread up the realization and implementation of the Non-Profit Organizations (NPO) Act. Based on my observations regarding legal regulations and institutional changes , this dissertation constructs a society-centered theory to explore and to analyze the relationship between the Japanese government and NPOs during the new period. This dissertation also seeks to explain how civic social ideologies developed and promoted the NPO Act and the establishment of the new JICA. In order to be more precise on the topic, I examine the change and the development by dividing the progress into ¡§traditional period¡¨ and ¡§new period¡¨ with after the cold war in the 1990s. On reviewing the changes of patterns and features of the development, I study the new interactive modes between state and society. The emphasis of this study is to show how Japan accelerated the NPO and ODA legal regulation and institutional changes. Furthermore, the study discusses how, the unique and new type of intermediate organizations, that support NPOs, developed after the execution of the NPO Act, and how those agencies provided local governments with NPOs cooperative partnership. In addition, this dissertation uses the platform of NPO Center of Chiba Prefecture as a case study, to analyze how to effectively combine members to spread the idea of ¡§NPO Prefecture,¡¨ and how to reorganize the system of new JICA in order to adopt outward environment and inward NPO participation. In other words, by demonstrating this new mode of cooperative partnership, the study expects to provide scholars with a reference of relative subjects and hopes to support the development of civil society in the developing countries.

鄧正健. / "2010年9月". / "2010 nian 9 yue". / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-101). / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Deng Zhengjian. / 緒論 公民社會:一種解殖話語? --- p.1 / Chapter 第一章 --- 後殖民語境下的「公民社會」 --- p.12 / Chapter 第二章 --- 香港「公民社會」概念史:一種描述性話語 --- p.27 / Chapter 第三章 --- 「真正博拉」的政治:七一時期的「公民抗命」論述 --- p.48 / Chapter 第四章 --- 個人理性的選擇:七一時期的「理性公民」論述 --- p.68 / 結論 解殖:一個正待繼續進行的計劃? --- p.82 / 後記 --- p.91 / 參考資料 --- p.92

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 229-243).

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2000. / Adviser: Barbara W. Grossman. Submitted to the Dept. of Drama. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-155). Access restricted to members of the Tufts University community. Also available via the World Wide Web;