Justice in reality: overcoming moral relativism in Luc Boltanski’s pragmatic sociology of critique

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn recent years, the pragmatic sociology of critique developed by French sociologist Luc Boltanski in cooperation with such authors as Laurent Thévenot and Éve Chiapello has received increasing attention within the social sciences. However, critical voices have questioned the theory’s capacity to overcome challenges of moral relativism and to stand as a form of critical sociology in its own right. In this article, I will trace the theory’s development from Boltanski and Thévenot’s early work of the 1980s to Boltanski’s most recent ideas. I will argue that the idea developed by Boltanski and Thévenot that ordinary people should be viewed as metaphysicians capable of distinguishing between what is and what ought to be lays the core foundations of the theory and provides a strong response to the challenge of moral relativism. Furthermore, I will show how Boltanski and Chiapello, in their study of the New Spirit of Capitalism, which is based on this fundamental notion of social actors as metaphysicians, develop a theory of domination and emancipation that can serve as the basis for critical sociology.