In Search of a Cultural Interpretation of Power: The Contribution of Pierre Bourdieu

Abstract

This article presents the cultural interpretation of power proposed by the French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu. After a brief comment about his intellectual trajectory, in particular the fundamental meaning he attributes to social action, there is an overview of the theory of social practices Bourdieu developed in the course of almost 40 years as one of the leading social scientists of all times. A comment is then introduced about the core concepts of habitus, forms of capital and field. Finally, the last section offers insights about his cultural theory of power and defends its relevance. The case of the Brazilian Landless Movement (MST) is used to illustrate possible analytical routes to test the explanatory utility of his framework. The article suggests that the sociological theory of Bourdieu received a problematic reception in the English speaking world and proposes a reading scheme to understand his theory of social practices.