This volume is the only collection of essays available in English on modern Swiss economy, society, and culture. Twelve of Switzerland's most eminent social scientists express their ideas and viewpoints about their nation's past, present, and likely future in a readable and informative way. The book provides an interesting and current description and analysis of many aspects of this unique and little known country—its work and leisure, its political and economic structure, its educational system, changes affecting its women, families, and young people, how the Swiss view themselves and are viewed by others, and geographically varied life spaces and styles such as those of its cities and its more traditional mountain regions. The essays are substantive and critical, offering much more than a mere appreciation of this picture-postcard country.
In the introduction, Hilowitz summarizes the main themes of the various essays and ties them together. The author of the first essay presents the principal features of Swiss urbanization and discusses recent changes which have affected the human settlement pattern. In the second essay, the broad institutional diffusion of power and decision making is explored. Three essays deal with various aspects of the Swiss workplace: trade unions, the work ethic, and women in the working world. Youth and their life prospects, as well as the educational system, are critically discussed in two essays. The authors of the essay on the structure and functioning of the family examine marriage, divorce, and styles of interaction within the family. Separate essays assess the life styles and social classes of the elderly, crime and crime control, changes affecting the rural population, and Switzerland's image abroad. Switzerland in Perspective will be an excellent resource for those interested in the broader scholarly or practical implications of Swiss economic, social, and political arrangements.