Ronald M. Glassman is Professor of Sociology at William Paterson University. He holds a doctorate in Sociology from New School University and has written many books on democracy and the middle class.William H. Swatos, Jr. is Executive Officer of the Association for the Sociology of Religion and of the Religious Research Association. His doctorate in Sociology was earned at the University of Kentucky.Barbara J. Denison is Assistant Professor of Sociology and directs the Graduate Program in Organizational Leadership & Development at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. She completed her doctoral degree in Sociology at Northwestern University under Howard Becker.

• Chapter 1 ForewordChapter 2 Prologue: Globalization and Social Problems: Has the High Technology Revolution Made Life Better or Worse?Chapter 3 Sociology, Social Problems, and the New Global CultureChapter 4 Doing Something About Social Problems: Facts, Values, and Political RealityChapter 5 World Religions on a Shrinking Planet: The Scientific World View and Reactions to it- Fundamentalist Movements, Cults, and Secular HumanismChapter 6 Marriage and Family: Love and Hate?: The Decline of the Extended Family, Women's Liberation, and DivorceChapter 7 Life Chances, Life Choices: Rape, Unwanted Pregnancy, and AbortionChapter 8 Sexualities and Beyond: Gays, Lesbians, and gender in the Global World; AIDS as a Social ProblemChapter 9 Societal Time Bombs: The Population Explosions and AgeismChapter 10 High Technology, Universal Health Insurance, and WellnessChapter 11 Class Structures and Poverty in Global PerspectiveChapter 12 Hunger and Homelessness Around the WorldChapter 13 Education in a Multicultural WorldChapter 14 The Culture of Violence: Crime and Success in the USA and Around the WorldChapter 15 Growing Up Drugged: Human Anxieties and Escape from RealityChapter 16 The Politics of Ethnic Warfare and Global TerrorismChapter 17 BibliographyChapter 18 About the Authors