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The Communitarian Update
Number 24
December 6, 1999
The Supreme Court is about to review whether to change the Miranda law to allow confessions
that have been given truly voluntarily to be allowed as evidence, even if rights were not
read to the person. We would love to hear your views on this issue. For an excellent article
analyzing the pros and cons see the October 23, 1999 issue of the National Journal for a
discussion by Stuart Taylor, Jr.
Coke is developing vending machines that would raise prices on hot days. They should have a
look at social science studies that show how people react to those who raise the price of
shovels during a snowstorm, etc. It would cool their ardor quickly than you can say El Nino.
The spirit of the time: In the movie The Messenger, Joan of Arc is depicted not as a heroine or a
person of great spirit and courage but as someone who is acting out her child abuse.
We have a limited number of The Limits of Privacy by Amitai Etzioni available for half price.
Order the hardcover from The Communitarian Network for only $12.50 (plus $2.00 for shipping
and handling). Send orders to comnet@gwu.edu.
End of triumphalism: The Wall Street Journal published an overview of the state of capitalism
ten years after the fall of the Wall. Major segments include a Germany still divided, identity
crisis in Russia, and backlash in Asia and Latin America.
The American Sociological Association elected one of its most left leaning members to be its
president: Professor Joe R. Feagin. The theme he set for the 2000 meeting is "Oppression,
Domination, and Liberation: Challenges for the 21st Century." Not everyone's cup of tea--or
sociology.
Deutschsprachiges Kommuniteriernetz - The first Communitarian Workshop in the German language,
on "Culture of Integration" was held in Berlin from September 16 - 18. The conference was
convened by Professor Dr. Hans U. Nuebel of Freiburg, who founded the German Network in
September 1998. Integration of migrants from different countries, some of them in the pursuit
of safety, is a major problem in Germany. A nonprofit association was founded at the workshop.
Visit their Web site at: http://www.member.aol.com/dekomnetz/basis.html
Take a look at the September 1999 issue of The School Administrator magazine on public engagement
in public education. You can find the contents at http://www.aasa.org/sa/contents.htm.
The Fourth Annual International Metropolis Conference will be held in Washington, D.C. from
December 8-11, 1999 at the Georgetown University Conference Center. The themes of the Conference
are: Building Community: Civil Society and Citizenship, Neighborhood Development: Housing and Labor
Markets Governments and NGOs in Partnership. For further information, see:
http://canada.metropolis.net/main_e.html
65% of kids 8 and older have a TV in their bedroom and say the set is usually on at mealtime.
61% say their parents have no rules about TV watching. (Newsweek, 11.29.99)
German Internet users are taking advantage of Amazon.com to purchase copies of Hitler's racist
manifesto Mein Kampf. It is illegal to sell Mein Kampf in bookstores in Germany or publish it
there. Amazon shipped so many copies of Mein Kampf to Germany that over the summer Hitler made
Amazon's top 10 best-seller list among German buyers. (New York Times, 11.17.99)
The Pokemon cartoon encourages traditional Japanese values such as responsibility, empathy,
cooperation, obedience, respect for elders and humility. The human characters of the show all
understand that capturing a Pokemon is not enough. Becoming a real "trainer" takes compassion,
responsibility and teamwork. (New York Times, 11.7.99)
Gary T. Marx, Professor Emeritus of Sociology from M.I.T. has written two articles on privacy
and surveillance, "Ethics of the New Surveillance" and "What's in a Name? Some Reflections on
the Sociology of Anonymity." Both appeared in The Information Society. They are available at
his web site: http://web.mit.edu/gtmarx/www/garyhome.html
Jean Bethke Elshtain and Amitai Etzioni take issue with Marjorie Heins on minors and First
Amendment rights in the Fall 1999 issue of Dissent.
DO-WIRE is a low volume, moderated e-mail announcement list covering the convergence of
democracies and the Internet around the world. Around 1 to 5 "best of" posts are forwarded
each week from civic, political, academic, government, media, and private sector sources. A
searchable web archive is available: http://www.e-democracy.org/do
New Publications
"Face-to-Face and Computer-Mediated Communities, A Comparative Analysis" by Amitai Etzioni
and Oren Etzioni appears in the new issue of The Information Society. You may download a
copy at http://gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~comnet/collaborations.html
Symbiotic Community: E.W. Mueller's Approach to the Rural Social Crisis (University Press
of America, 1996) by Gilson A.C. Waldkoenig, presents a communitarian vision for rural
communities that grew of out rural church work.
The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators : American Society at the End of the 20th Century
by William J. Bennett (Broadway Books: 1999). A portrait in numbers of the moral, social and
behavioral condition of American Society.
Demorcracy.com? Governance in a Networked World by Elaine Ciulla Kamarck and Joseph S. Nye,
Editors (Hollis, 1999). Collection examines the impact of technology on aspects of democratic
governance such as representation and community.
The Communitarian Update is compiled by Jennifer Ambrosino. Send RELEVANT news items to
comnet@gwu.edu. Please consider forwarding the Update to others who may be interested.
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