Amitai Etzioni (; Werner Falk; born 4 January 1929) is a German-born Israeli-American sociologist, best known for his work on socioeconomics and communitarianism. He founded the Communitarian Network, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to supporting the moral, social, and political foundations of society. He established the network to disseminate the movement's ideas. His writings argue for a carefully crafted balance between individual rights and social responsibilities, and between autonomy and order, in social structure. In 2001, he was named among the top 100 American intellectuals, as measured by academic citations, in Richard Posner's book, Public Intellectuals: A Study of Decline. Etzioni is currently the Director of the Institute for Communitarian Policy Studies at The George Washington University, where he also serves as a University Professor and professor of International Affairs. His most recent book, Reclaiming Patriotism, was published by University of Virginia Press in September 2019. Early life and education Amitai Etzioni was born Werner Falk in Cologne, Germany in 1929 to a Jewish family. In January 1933, Etzioni was only four years old when the car he was riding in made a sharp turn and, in response, he grabbed a handle that opened the door. Etzioni was pulled back into the car at the last moment by his father, but, as noted in his memoir, My Brother's Keeper, this memory foreshadowed the upcoming doom that would overtake his homeland during the Nazi rule. Later in 1933, Etzioni and his grandparents were walking through the forest next to Frankfurt when they came upon a forest fire. Suddenly, Hitler Youth ventured into the forest, riding in two trucks. Etzioni's grandparents reacted by grabbing Amitai and rushing down the hill, without explaining what happened in this close encounter with the Nazis — feeding into his sense of fear and foreboding. By the time he turned five, both of his parents had escaped to London, which left Etzioni in the care of his grandparents. Etzioni was smuggled out of Germany soon afterwards, arriving at a train station in Italy with a non-Jewish relative, who soon reunited Etzioni with his parents. Etzioni was stuck with his parents in Athens, Greece for a year, unable to enter Palestine since his family was awarded a bachelor permit instead of a family permit. When the paperwork was finally resolved, Etzioni found himself learning Hebrew in Haifa, Mandatory Palestine in the winter of 1937. At this time, he