The Iron Cage of Utopia
The Law Society of NSW
Level 2, 170 Phillip St, Sydney
In 1905 sociologist Max Weber warned of the ‘iron cage’ that would trap individuals in systems based solely on efficiency, utility and control. Sixty years earlier French writer Alexis de Tocqueville warned of a ‘soft despotism’ which would result when countries become overrun by ‘a network of small complicated rules’. Many commentators are pointing out that the Utopia promised by those eschewing a Judeo/Christian ethic has not eventuated. Some are wondering whether phrases like ‘soft despotism’ or ‘iron cage’ are more apt descriptors of where we’ve found ourselves as a society. Come along to the last City Legal for the Quarter and hear Dr Peter Jensen speak on ‘The New Moralism’.
Hosted by The City Legal Team
