Two deadly diseases and one nearly fatal cure: The sorry state of American sociology

Recent diagnoses of the contemporary crisis in American sociology generally fail to address some of the discipline's most deeply rooted problems and therefore cannot provide an effective remedy. If sociology is to escape from its current moribund condition in the United States, it must move away from prevalent “biologizing” and “naturalizing” attitudes, while also rejecting the false cure of “postmodernism.” A true renaissance will require a critical approach that combines moderate empiricism and moderate relativism with a strong human-rights perspective. Larry T. Reynolds, is the author of over one hundred publications, including twelve books. A senior fellow of the Rockport Institute, he is also past president of the North Central Sociological Association and former chair of the Marxist section of the American Sociological Association.