The Third Revolution

A stunning book, full of insights [on] advanced industrial societies. <br>-Peter Stearns, Editor, Journal of Social History <br> Harold Perkin has written yet another important and broad-ranging treatise. In The Third Revolution he argues that the rise of the professions has been the most important social trend in recent history... At the same time, he shows clearly that professional society can itself come in different forms and with vastly different economic and political consequences. The former Soviet Union, he argues brilliantly, was a society dominated by professionals unchecked by democracy or by the market and that, as such, it was marked by corruption and inefficiency so great as to discredit the entire system. Professional society in the United States, by contrast, has been more commercial and dominated by market forces, a fact that brings its own pathologies and distortions. Overall, Perkin has made a compelling case that his focus on professionalism offers an extremely illuminating perspective from which to view and analyze contemporary history and contemporary society. <br>-James E. Cronin, Boston Co <br> In his latest book Harold Perkin applies his pathbreaking conception of the growth of professional society to the dramatic changes now taking place in global capitalism. The Third Revolution is not only a work of formidable intellectual distinction, it is also a passionate and moving contribution to the debate on how to reconcile the dynamism of a capitalist market economy with social justice and cohesion. <br>-David Marquand, Oxford University <br>