In Friendship, Francesco Alberoni differentiates friendship from other interpersonal relationships and shows that the friendship encounter embodies justice and thus resists dehumanizing societal trends. The ideals of friendship enjoin us to realize the republican virtues in everyday life.

Francesco Alberoni is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at San Pio V, Rome. He has published novels, monographs and numerous articles on social movements and love, including Movement and Institution (Columbia, 1984) and Falling in Love (Random House, 1983).