Many Americans despair that the glue that once held American society together has since come undone. Yet, as Dennis Wrong shows, our generation is not alone in fearing a breakdown of social ties and a descent into violent conflict. Analyzing such thinkers as Hobbes, Rousseau, Freud, Mead, Parsons, Marx, Durkheim, and Weber, Wrong shows how their ideas about co-operation and conflict afford an illuminating perspective on our own efforts to create a well-functioning system that allows for productive and meaningful lives. In a world where diverse ethnic, religious, class, and national groups are both interdependent yet conflicted, this book reveals the individual and social processes that offer potential for reconciliation in the future.