Jurgen Habermas: from ideology to communicative rationality

Abstract

An alternative view regarding the grounding and function of a critical theory of society can be found in the work of the contemporary German philosopher, Jurgen Habermas. Habermas's work falls clearly into the Enlightenment tradition of critical theory as it was developed by Kant, Hegel, and Marx. He was initially perceived as heir to the legacy of the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory. Like other prominent theorists of the Frankfurt school such as Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin, and Herbert Marcuse, Habermas also discussed the problems of modern industrialized countries such as the growing rationalization of modern life, issues of culture and the growth of a ‘culture industry’, and the impact of such developments on the relations between theory and political practice. But the trajectory of Habermas's later work has taken him into new areas and he has engaged with many of the important currents of thought of the late twentieth century such as poststructuralism and systems theory. Habermas may be said to have re-articulated the project of critical theory to address contemporary concerns. A discussion of the full range of Habermas's work would be outside the scope of this book. This chapter will briefly examine some key concepts which have continued to guide his thinking over the years to assess his contribution to the understanding of power and domination in the contemporary world. In his earlier work Habermas developed a concept of ideology, and ideological power, which he claimed was more suited to the problems of the contemporary industrialized world than Marx's theory of ideology. He also attempted to locate his critique of ideology in a new kind of political theory.