Abstract

Ranging from some of the most advanced economies in the world to others with only modest national income, and from well established democracies to countries with lengthy histories as dictatorships, Europe presents the social scientist with a laboratory of different social forms. Colin Crouch here draws on 40 years experience as a researcher on European societies to explore this diversity across such key areas of life as patterns of birth and death, family, gender, migration, religion, work, economy and inequality.
This accessible book is written with students on courses in sociology and political science, and also general readers, in mind. However, it also marks an original contribution to the study of European societies by presenting a new approach to study of social class in post-industrial societies, and by bringing together knowledge of all parts of Europe, including those in the east.

"Colin Crouch is, as ever, the supreme guide through the complexities of social life in the societies in which we now live. This is obligatory reading for all who wish to make sense of the social world around us." - Colin Hay, Sciences Po, Paris, France

'This is a major contribution to our understanding of European societies from one of Europe's foremost scholars. An exemplary combination of contemporary quantitative analysis and deep historical understanding, it convincingly challenges conventional accounts and represents a model of comparative analysis. This will assuredly be a landmark of comparative social science.' – Anthony Heath, Nuffield College, University of Oxford, UK