Books by Luc (Ecole des hautes etudes en sciences sociales Boltanski

* This is a major new work of social theory by one of the leading sociologists in France today. Formerly a close collaborator of Pierre Bourdieu, Luc Boltanski has gone on to develop his own distinctive brand of critical, pragmatic sociology. * His recent book The New Spirit of Capitalism is widely recognized as a major work.

What is the morally acceptable response to images of starving children, bombed villages and mass graves brought to us by television? Luc Boltanski discusses the ways in which spectators have tried to respond to what they have seen and asks if there remains a place for pity in modern politics.