The concept of the moral panic : an historico-sociological positioning

In this chapter I wish to review the origins, uses and abuses of the concept of the moral panic, attempting to assess its relevance as an analytical tool, not least, in the context of this collection, to historians of early modern England (among whose number, it will be abundantly clear, this sociologist of the contemporary cannot be counted). An argument is advanced for the necessity of a careful, subtle and reflexive critique of a concept that, in the wrong hands, is more likely to foreclose discussion of social and political issues than encourage it, and to obstruct rather than illuminate the complex relationships between social structure, ideology, media and culture.