People or Personnel

This volume collects two long works and several shorter pieces of Goodman's output from the mid-sixties, when he was at the height of his influence. Taken together, the pieces represent a pithy and outraged critique of the monstrous and dehumanizing corporate-bureaucratic system. But going beyond the usual handwringing of social critics of the era, Goodman presents an array of simple and sensible proposals towards human scale, self-determination, and community. By this point in his life Goodman was beginning to repeat himself, and this volume presents many ideas that he had developed in greater detail in earlier masterworks such as Communitas (city planning), Growing Up Absurd (youth and education), and Gestalt Therapy (psychology). Those interested in any particular area of Goodman's thought would do well to seek out the earlier volumes. Those looking for a brief overall introduction to his outlook and ideas might try his collection "Utopian Essays and Practical Proposals".