This essay proposes that the comparative research of Eisenstadt made room for ‘tradition’ as a creative feature of modernity, rather than as dysfunctional, as in either the liberal or leftist model. He recognized that conflict — often a conflict of generations—is a feature of modernity, and that trust is also a problematic aspect of change. An ultimate concern of Eisenstadt was to build on classical themes of sociology and theories of social change to develop, with colleagues, an adequate sociological understanding of an evolving civilization of modernity. Eisenstadt based his writings on comparative historical research, his far-flung travels, as well as continuous observations of the dynamics of his own Israeli society.
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21.
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