In the epicenter of politics: Axel Honneth’s theory of the struggles for recognition and Luc Boltanski and Laurent Thévenot’s moral and political sociology

Abstract

Axel Honneth’s development of the Frankfurt School’s Critical Social Theory has increased the amount of attention that is paid to the dimension of political praxis by emphasizing the social struggle for recognition. Nevertheless, the political-sociological axis of this tradition remains relatively unexplored and unclear. Taking this as a starting point, I investigate the contribution that the pragmatic sociology of Luc Boltanski and Laurent Thévenot could make to the fortification of this political dimension. I do this by tracing a line of argument through several of Boltanski’s studies in the direction of a political-sociological axis. I show that this aspect of Boltanski’s sociology can be understood as a very fruitful analysis of processes of political articulation that may help Critical Theory overcome a political deficiency.

Going public? Re‐thinking visibility, ethics and recognition through participatory research praxis

“…Critical development of Honneth's concept of recognition among poststructural scholars has insisted that questions of power, domination and embodiment (McNay ), as well as those concerning the material conditions and distribution of resources to enable such struggles (Fraser ; Fraser and Honneth ), must be addressed; a point Honneth () later acknowledges. Others have encouraged a more politicised notion of agency within such theories of recognition (Basaure ; Deranty and Renault ), and highlight the need to focus more directly on its socio‐political practices (Kallio ). Moreover, the inter‐subjective claims that underpin an ethics of recognition are complicated by more recent understandings that any notion of a ‘fully formed’ subject is flawed.…”

Anti-equivalence: Pragmatics of post-liberal dispute

“…Inequality is not a structural effect of, say, capitalism, but a performative outcome of principles and tests which exist to establish generally agreeable equivalences and differences. In line with Honneth’s philosophy of recognition, everyday moral experience becomes the starting point from which to understand the force of critique in society (Basaure, 2011b). This sociological approach is hermeneutically illuminating but assumes a sometimes implausible degree of critical autonomy, as if formal liberal equality – as witnessed in the ideal courtroom, market or deliberative public sphere – is typically a feature of everyday socio-economic situations.…”

Denunciar lo injusto: La crítica social de las clases medias y su relación con el cambio y la reproducción social

“…En lo que respecta a los estudios sobre la crítica social en Chile en los últimos años, se han realizado investigaciones que abordan una línea más teórica (Basaure, 2011(Basaure, , 2014 y otras que hacen un acercamiento empírico a la crítica ordinaria en el país (Barozet & Mac-Clure, 2014Mac-Clure et al, 2015). Mauro Basaure ha dialogado principalmente con algunos miembros contemporáneos de la Escuela de Frankfurt y con Luc Boltanski, profundizando las relaciones entre estas dos agendas teóricas, así como ha abordado directamente el tema de la crítica social y la justificación.…”

“…Para precisar la relación entre la crítica social y sus implicancias en la realidad -sea como un aliciente de la transformación o de la reproducción social u otro eventual efecto-se debe atender al carácter particular de esta en su contexto de realización, es decir, en su dimensión pragmática (Basaure, 2011). En el caso de la crítica a la desigualdad, del tipo que sea esta última, se ha de identificar el marco normativo o de referencia en base al que se juzga, que corresponde a los principios de justicia que emergen en la interacción social y que, como mencionamos, responden principalmente a un factor cultural.…”