Drawing on and extending the relational thought of Simmel, this book argues that, constituting a reality of their own, social relations are profoundly changing modern society and will ultimately lead to a new form of society: an after-modern or relational society that challenges the guiding ideas of Western modernity.
Pierpaolo Donati is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Centre of Studies on Social Innovation (CESIS) at the University of Bologna, Italy.