Dimitrie Gusti’s “Knowledge and action in the service of the nation”. Book review

In the autumn of 1938, King Carol II ratified the Social Service Law proposed by Dimitrie Gusti. The law was the culmination of Dimitrie Gusti’s entire activity, as it generalized on a national scale his ideals of raising the Romanian nation through scientific research, raising the self-awareness of Romanians, and training creative elite personalities. Thus, in the autumn of 1939, students from Romanian universities carried out a research and uplifting internship in the villages (where about 80% of the country’s population lived). To understand the work, they were to do, D. Gusti published the book “Knowledge and Action in the Service of the Nation”465 . The book contains the sociological, ethical, and political system that formed the basis of the Law of Social Service together with the main results of the work undertaken by the “Prince Carol” Royal Foundation up to 1939. As then, the book is relevant for young people in Romania who are interested in the development of the country. Also, together with “The Bucharest School of Sociology” (Mircea Vulcănescu) the book represents one of the most comprehensive syntheses of the Romanian sociologist’s thinking.