Human Nature, Interest, and Power
A Critique of Reinhold Niebuhr’s Social Thought
- Philosophy
- Publisher: Cascade Books (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2013
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Publisher's Description
This book criticizes three basic concepts in Reinhold Niebuhr's social thought: his views of human nature, interest, and power. Attention is directed especially at the way Niebuhr's concepts lack sufficient historicity, obscure social and political dynamics, and, finally, lack adequate descriptive power. An alternative to each of these concepts is offered and used as a way to open up social thought to more complex analysis, more concrete and material uses, and a discussion of implications for alternative direction and action.
Endorsements (3)
“Tex Sample has written a shrewd and penetrating critique of Reinhold Niebuhr. With reference to recent critical theory, he goes beneath the generalizing abstractions to contextual work; he traces the way in which our attentiveness to contextual differences has advanced since Niebuhr. Future work on Niebuhr will want to take Sample's study into close consideration.”
“Sample deftly moves between theory and practice to produce a lively interpretation of Reinhold Niebuhr focused on his social thought. Using the themes of human nature, interest, and power he guides the reader into Niebuhr's world to ask how he is or is not relevant for the thorny realities of our contemporary world. Grounded by his lifelong pursuit of social justice, this is Tex Sample at his best--probing, candid, rigorous, and relevant.”
“Tex Sample stands among a small number of theologians who understand theory must be informed by practice and experience. His critical challenges to Niebuhr's concepts of power and self-interest reflect both his serious engagement as a scholar of Niebuhr and his on-the-ground experience as a leader with the Industrial Areas Foundation organizations in Arizona.”
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