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Through an introduction to and comparison of Weber's, Elias's and Habermas's accounts of western civilization, the author hopes to demonstrate that a differential and balanced understanding is needed so that an adequate evaluation of western civilization can be developed.It is suggested that the originality of Habermas's theory rests on its illumination of how the critical intent of promoting social justice can be integrated with our understanding of western civilization. The book touches on several core issues in philosophy, social theory and sociology, such as the problems of material-ideal, micro-macro, self-society, fact-value and understanding-critique. It also provides an in-depth comparison between Elias and Habermas.