This article argues that Goldberg’s Modernity and the Jews in Western Social Thought fills an important gap: Jews are not only ‘good to think’ (Lévi-Strauss) but also essential for Western social theorists to critically interpret modernity and ambivalence towards it. In the article’s first part, devoted to the book’s epistemological and methodological underpinnings, I raise the following points: the book’s disciplinary focus prevents it from engaging more fully with broader intellectual and sociocultural currents, its national-cum-thematic structure precludes the exploration of transnational comparisons and nationally exogenous factors, the neglect of Jewish exile and cosmopolitan identity in the face of antisemitism and lack of clarity as to whether the book conforms to a realist epistemology or a symbolic one. In the article’s second part, I raise points about Goldberg’s rereading of the sociological canon, notably regarding Durkheim, Simmel and Weber.

中文翻译：

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犹太人，西方社会学的亲密伙伴

本文认为，戈德堡的现代性和西方社会思想中的犹太人填补了一个重要空白：犹太人不仅“善于思考”（列维-施特劳斯），而且对于西方社会理论家批判性地解释现代性和对现代性的矛盾心理也是必不可少的。在文章的第一部分，致力于本书的认识论和方法论基础，我提出以下几点：该书的学科重点阻止它更充分地参与更广泛的知识和社会文化潮流，它的民族和主题结构排除了对跨国界的探索。比较和民族外生因素，在反犹太主义面前忽视了犹太人的流亡和世界性身份，并且不清楚这本书是符合现实主义认识论还是象征认识论。在文章的第二部分，