Preface

As we approach the twenty-first century, a wave of anticipation is building. Many people share a sense that change is accelerating and the future is fraught with uncertainty. Our national economy has been transformed over the past generation as work has flowed from industrial factories and natural resources to a host of new service companies. More and more, earning a living demands working with ideas rather than with things, manipulating symbols rather than say, bending steel. Is it any wonder, in light of this change, that jobs are less secure? And, just as important, for those lucky enough to be working steadily, income seems to have stalled. Even though women are now a mainstay of the labour force, many twoearner couples are struggling to hold on to their standard of living.
At a broader level, a vast global economy now connects nations the way the burgeoning national economy linked cities a century ago. Changes wrought by this process of globalization are rippling through the world’s political systems, setting off waves of migration, and challenging educators everywhere to rethink their curricula. Even the stunning cultural diversity that has long fascinated and frustrated humankind may now be eroding as communications technology—from satellite transmissions to facsimile machines—draws members of thousands of world societies into a global conversation.
Against this backdrop of ongoing change—indeed, because of it—sociology is gaining in popularity with close to one million students enrolling in courses each year. Never before has sociology been so necessary as we seek to understand the ever-more complex world around us. And, to this end, we are pleased to present the second Canadian edition of Sociology. As in the past, this new edition is authoritative, comprehensive, stimulating, and, we hope, plain fun to read.
But much is new to Sociology, Second Canadian Edition, the product of years of planning, writing, and editorial production. As always, our goal is ambitious—to elevate sociology’s most popular text to a still higher standard of excellence, in order to support today’s instructors as they teach about both our diverse society and the changing world around us.