Social Theorists Research Articles

From Superdiversity to Social Difference: A Critique of Vertovec’s Paradigm Shift

Due to Vertovec’s standing as a celebrated social theorist and his influence, we wish to discuss his condensation of sociology's most crucial concepts to make a convenient model of "the social organization of difference." Having performed a close reading of Vertovec's works, from the era in which he touted "super-diversity" up to his phrasing of "difference," we have concerns that his body of work leaves out the collective experiences of the "Global South," perhaps unintentionally. In charting this so-called difference, Vertovec limits his scope of discourse to the boundaries of his knowledge. Yet, he is optimistic about positing this model as a one-size-fits-all approach, encompassing the entire human experience. We use examples from the Global South, focusing on the postcolonial societies of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, to illustrate the gaps in Vertovec's approach. We do not wish to debunk Vertovec's ideas entirely; we merely want to signpost the existence of other "different" experiences. Thus, we apply the theories of Southeast Asian scholars to extend this scope of discourse—everyday-defined realities, the social organization of difference, and sociological theory.

Friedrich Engels’s view on theoretical thinking: innovative application by the Communist Party of Vietnam in the reform process

Marxism-Leninism has become a widespread ideological foundation that is consistently and firmly pursued by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in its leadership orientation for national development. This research aims to explore and identify the distinctive issues in Friedrich Engels’ theoretical thinking regarding the formation of theoretical thinking based on practical experience, the close relationship between theoretical and scientific thinking, materialist dialectical thinking and mastering the scientific principles of philosophy. These orientations have become methodological guides for the CPV to apply to its leadership activities. This research was conducted based on the analysis and synthesis of available sources, with the main sources being the Marx-Engels Collected Works and some classical works written independently by Friedrich Engels, along with a synthesis of related studies. The results indicate that Friedrich Engels’ theoretical thinking has been studied, supplemented, developed, and creatively applied by the Communist Party of Vietnam in the renovation process in Vietnam, especially since the CPV initiated the renovation policy in December 1986. To date, Vietnamese socialist theory continues to be supplemented by Friedrich Engels’ theoretical thinking, which in his time had not been able to be experimented, contributing significantly to the development of the CPV’s theoretical understanding of political, economic, cultural, and social leadership, becoming an important guiding tool for the CPV to firmly lead the implementation of the renovation policy. Friedrich Engels’ theoretical thinking also holds important value in the struggle against erroneous, eclectic, dogmatic, and mechanical views on human perception and practical action.

Introduction: Social theorists and the First World War

This Special Issue examines the ways in which emerging or established social theorists from Continental Europe and the United States were personally and politically involved in and affected by the First the First World War (WWI), and considers how the war shaped their sociological theories. WWI was a pivotal moment that transformed global and historical systems in ways that challenged conventional social scientific assumptions about the supposed shift from “traditional” to “modern” societies and compelled sociologists to reconsider the impact of industry and military affairs on everyday life. The period from 1914 to 1918 has typically been ignored or bracketed by later scholars as a largely inconsequential gap in an otherwise uninterrupted flow of intellectual production. By considering not only individual theorists and their social networks but also the transformation of the discipline as a whole, the contributors to this Special Issue offer a systematic assessment of the relevance of this formative period in the development of sociological theory and of the impact of war in shaping the modern world. The Editors’ Introduction highlights how the scale and intensity of the total war that engaged the countries of Europe and North America in 1914 came as a shock to most intellectuals, even though nationalistic wars had become familiar to them from the precious century. The central role of nation-states in carrying out what was at the time was called the European War, and later came to be known as the First World War, made it impossible for social scientists and other intellectuals in the belligerent countries to remain neutral. Even those who were not directly active in or publicly vocal about the war felt compelled to take a stand, and many reached their highest level of public visibility and political influence during the WWI era, often beyond the reputation they achieved before or after. The complex problems emerging within the nation-state system that the war had exposed renewed their sense of professional duty and patriotic loyalty while focussing their attention on questions concerning the geopolitics of international warfare and peace; the role of the modern state and its bureaucratic institutions; the nature of civil society and ethnic communities; the forces of political economy and cultural mobilization; and the emancipatory potential of colonial capitalism and racialized imperialism.

Tönnies on the tension between community and society during the First World War

Ferdinand Tönnies’ main legacy in social theory, the community-society dichotomy developed in his work Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft (Community and Society, GuG) of 1887, showed its potential for grasping but also for creating social reality during the First World War (WWI), a conflagration welcomed by some of the most prominent intellectuals throughout Europe. One the most important terms for mobilising support for the war effort in Germany was Gemeinschaft (community), which Tönnies had opposed to (capitalist, modern, western) Gesellschaft (society). Many German intellectuals came to defend the now notorious “ideas of 1914”, inter alia Volksgemeinschaft (folk community), the toxic potential of which was most clearly revealed later under National Socialism. This served to relativise the ideas of 1789 – liberty, equality, and fraternity. The folk community was evoked together with a national truce between the social classes over the distribution of material and symbolic capital, known as the Burgfrieden, literally, the peace of the citadel, mirroring the Union Sacrée (Sacred Union) called forth by President Raymond Poincaré in France in 1914. Volksgemeinschaft figured in much of the polemics of Germany’s intellectual class throughout the war. Tönnies’ dichotomy and his variations on the theme formed one of the most significant conceptual inventions to be mobilised in wartime public opinion, for instance when Thomas Mann asserted a fundamental difference between western European Zivilisation and German Kultur – a dichotomy already found in Tönnies’ work of 1887 – in Mann’s Betrachtungen eines Unpolitischen (Reflections of a Nonpolitical Man), written between 1915 and 1918. While Tönnies did not claim Germany had a monopoly over culture, he had suggested in 1887 that the United States lacked national character, ushering in the notion that the degree of community depended on nationhood. Defining features of community – the sense of common appurtenance or the devotion of the individual to the Whole – characterised early German as opposed to Durkheimian social theory, which was more concerned with the division of functions and exchanges, as can be seen in the work of leading members of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie (German Sociological Association, DGS). While Tönnies’ GuG offered incisive concepts for social critique, his positions on WWI, like those of other early 20th century social theorists, raise the question of how such a perspicacious intelligentsia could have been won over by causes now viewed as calamitous, at a time when Europe’s belligerent nations’ intellectual elite were accusing one another of myopia and intellectual dishonesty.

Gramsci’s dissidence beneath and beyond the First World War

One of the leading Marxist theorists of the 20th century and a founding member and leader of the Italian Communist Party, Antonio Gramsci began his intellectual and political journey essentially at the outbreak of WWI and left a massive body of journalistic work by the end of the war. Despite their scope and significance, his wartime writings remain understudied relative to the Prison Notebooks and other post-wartime writings, particularly in the English language literature. This article outlines some of the central themes that he explored in this period. It provides a synoptic depiction of Gramsci’s conceptual development over the course of the war. Gramsci’s dissident social theory represents a radically different intellectual reaction to the war than we see from prominent conservative and liberal social theorists. What emerges from the picture presented in this article is a conceptual snapshot whose organizing principle centers on a critical understanding of intransigence that Gramsci developed over the course of the war. The notion of intransigence, which for Gramsci went far beyond organizational and strategic struggles and expanded into cultural and philosophical endeavors, helps make sense of the major contours of his wartime activities. In carving out a space for critical engagement during the war, Gramsci developed a critique of liberalism and a commitment to socialism which were both marked by and linked through his critical understanding of intransigence.

Are social contracts possible without actual negotiation?

AbstractThis article addresses one of the several moral arguments for the state, the social contract argument, showing that this argument has been inadequately justified. The terms of any contract are determined by negotiation among the parties to the contract. The terms of any contract cannot be known absent actual negotiation to produce them. Social contract theorists widely believe that actual negotiation and actual agreement with a social contract did not occur, so their theories rest on hypothetical scenarios in which people would agree to the contract’s terms. Because actual negotiations did not produce a social contract, one cannot know its terms. This calls into question whether people could be obligated to abide by a social contract whose terms were not negotiated and hence are unknowable.

Substitution: On the Animating Spirit of Economic Rationality

The term ‘substitution’, given minimal attention in thinking, became important in modern logic, but its treatment is highly technical. After a short review of its conceptual-historical background, the article discusses two important contemporary social and cultural theorists of substitution, Roberto Calasso and Michel Serres. It then turns to William Stanley Jevons, who first took up Boole’s logic, formulated the principle ‘substitution of similars’, the presumed heart of reasoning itself, constructed the first computer, and was a founder of neoclassical economics. The coincidence of these innovations in Jevons, through ‘substitution’, captures the way the modern world was set on its current trajectory, progressing towards a ‘substitution society’. The article concludes that as the key values of human life cannot be substituted, substitution as a general principle applied to human existence is absurd; economic theory, however, as shown in the ideas of Jevons, is founded on the exclusion of such genuine and meaningful concerns.

John McGrath’s Socialist Theatre: An Analysis of the Cheviot, the Stag, and the Black, Black Oil

This study examines John McGrath as a pioneering figure in British socialist theatre, renowned for using drama to critique social and political issues. McGrath sought to provoke thought and action against inequalities by addressing the struggles of marginalized populations. This paper focuses on his seminal work, The Cheviot, the Stag, and the Black, Black Oil (1973), which is pivotal in socially committed theatre. The play vividly portrays Scottish history, intertwining historical narrative with political analysis to explore economic and social inequalities. It highlights McGrath’s influence on contemporary theatre through his innovative approach and socialist stance. The paper delves into the thematic concerns and narrative structure of the play, emphasizing its impact on discussions of class, power, and identity, and its enduring relevance in modern theatre.

Lionel Munby, Marxism, and Local History

AbstractA member of the Communist Party for thirty‐four years, and a key participant in the post‐War Communist Party Historians’ Group, Lionel Munby (1918–2009) is not among that Group's best‐known historians. Yet arguably he was more typical of its membership and outlook. A prolific author, an extra‐mural department lecturer, he was committed to bringing history to a wide public, and helping ordinary people become architects of their own histories. He struggled to persuade the Group to take local and regional history seriously, and to overcome disdain for a type of history regarded as antiquarian and reactionary. Munby converted to socialism when he was a schoolboy and saw Nazi Germany at first hand. As an Oxford undergraduate, he organised the Oxford Left in the momentous appeasement by‐election of 1938. This article draws on interviews with Munby, on his writings, and on the archives of the Communist Party Historians’ Group. The investigation allows us to recalibrate the preoccupations of the Group, to explore its interface with what today we call ‘public history’, and to show how one historian fused socialist theory with histories of regions, landscapes, and local communities.

Research on Enhancing the Affinity of Ideological and Political Theory Courses in Private Universities in the New Era

In the new era, the ideological and political theory courses in private colleges and universities have the problem of insufficient affinity. College students in the new era have distinct personalities, psychology, and value orientations, but some college students feel distant from ideological and political theory courses. They do not pay attention to, understand, or even resist "big concepts" and "big propositions" such as the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, as well as the lofty ideals and beliefs. Therefore, effective countermeasures must be formed to create a warm ideological and political classroom from the aspects of teaching content, teaching methods, teaching practice, and teacher team building, so as to increase the closeness of ideological and political theory courses among college students. Only in this way can the spirit of patriotism take root in the hearts of students and give play to the positive influence of ideological and political theory courses on the values of young college students.

Theorising universality in the modern world-system: the abstract, the concrete, and the case of Botswana

There are long-standing disagreements across the humanities and social sciences regarding the relevance and necessity of using the concept of ‘universality’. The debate is often framed as a competition between acknowledging particularities of social struggles and identities, against universalising tendencies or interests across the world-system. Within these debates, universality may be conceptualised as an abstract totality that fails to apply under select con­ditions, or a banner that supersedes or squashes identities and particulars. This article reorients the debate, suggesting social theorists view universality from a fresh perspective. It acknowledges the totalising nature of global capitalism, and the unique struggles of different oppressed and exploited groups, suggesting the tensions between them are constitutive of universality itself. Critical, dialectical theories of universality emanating from interdisciplinary terrains of Africana studies, global political economy, and psychoanalysis guide us in new directions for theorising universality. I illustrate these points with a case study of struggles for justice waged by the Indigenous San of Botswana. The details of this case allow us to identify the concrete struggles of the San as an embodiment of the universal struggle for freedom within a world-system founded upon hyper-exploitation and widespread violence, often targeting African and Indigenous peoples.

When Is it Right to Speak of Animal Rights?

Abstract This article examines the ways in which the language of legal rights is invoked by those seeking to improve the treatment of animals. Drawing from a range of analytical, realist, and critical legal and social theorists, it argues that certain argumentative techniques commonly employed to justify the extension of legal rights to animals may serve to strengthen and reproduce the very forms of exploitation they seek to challenge. The article begins by identifying and critiquing the binary characterisation of rights/welfare and property/personality in liberal animal law scholarship. It then employs the insights of Theodor Adorno and Walter Benjamin to expose and critique various appeals to an ‘exterior’ or ‘extra-legal’ domain which functions to stabilise the meaning of these doctrinal categories. In doing so, it explores the strategic viability of rights discourse in the animal advocacy movement with a view to highlighting the limitations of liberal constructions of animal rights.

PETER DRUCKER: MORE RELEVANT THAN EVER FOR TODAY’S LEADERS

AbstractThe author, Research Director of the Management as a Liberal Art Research Institute, has studied directly under Peter Drucker and has written books about him. In assessing Drucker’s work and legacy in a context for today’s leaders, she notes that he “was shaped by the disruptions of World War I, the rise of Nazi Germany, the Great Depression, World War II, and the growth of the United States as a post‐war industrial powerhouse. Given the degree of uncertainty he experienced in the first 35 years of his life, it is not surprising that Drucker sought a path to navigate the rough waters of instability and change.” Regarding his personal/career longevity, “his devotion to lifelong learning and his genuine interest in the lives of so many people helped him produce timely and important work well into his eighties and nineties.” She further discusses Drucker’s work as a social theorist, in management as a human activity, evolving views on leadership, the knowledge society, innovation, the public sector, technology, and the future. Regarding the latter, “decisions regarding advancement must be made with an eye on social costs and benefits, the limitations of technological innovations, and the historical, social, and cultural context of technological innovation.”

What Is Anti‐Colonial Global Social Theory?

ABSTRACTAnti‐colonial social theory is a set of ideas, assessments and practices of metatheoretical nature that have originated within anti‐colonial thought. As a methodology it theorises and interrogates the ideological within the empirical, the theoretical, and the ‘scientific unconscious’ of fields/disciplines. While criticising late 19th Euro‐American theories as universal set of propositions, it locates its limitations and presents ways to unravel the ideological‐political elements that structure thought and scholarship. It also presents ways through which new global theories may be conceptualised and researched. The paper engages, analyses, compares and assesses various methodological interventions made by anti‐colonial social theorists regarding colonialism, its origin and its continuities; its pasts and presents in distinct times and epochs and in its varied spatial geographies and suggests that these can become tools to define global social theory.

How Does Neoliberalism Form Our Lifes? A Praxeological Approach with Jaeggi and Foucault

ABSTRACT Michel Foucault’s work has immensely enriched the way critical social theorists understand power. Beyond his work on disciplinary normalisation, Foucault’s genealogy of the modern state has discussed governmental power as the conduct of conduct of subjects and populations. Foucault reserves his understanding of norms and normalisation for explaining the prescriptive force of disciplinary power. Accordingly, he hardly uses the language of norms to explain how neoliberal policies interfere in social conduct. In this paper, I aim to elucidate what kind of normative intervention neoliberal governmentality encompasses. By mobilising Rahel Jaeggi’s understanding of forms of life as ensembles of normatively imbued social practices, I suggest that neoliberal governmentality introduces the rationality of market competition into the problem-solving horizon of social conduct, thereby creating and instituting a “neoliberal form of life”. Hence, I argue that neoliberal governmentality is a form of domination that intervenes in ethical norms and social practices that build everyday forms of life.

Resistance to Tyranny versus the Public Good: John Locke and Counter-Terror Law in the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT John Locke was a social contract theorist. He envisaged that individuals had domiciled in a state of nature, enjoying natural rights. But because of the insecurities of the natural state, individuals transitioned to the stability of civil society, guaranteed by a sovereign. There were fetters on the sovereign, however, such as passing laws for the public good. Is modern legislation to counter terrorism for the public good? Locke also expressly granted a right of resistance on the people. But is this right terrorism? Reflecting on these principles, this study examines counter-terror statutes and determines whether Locke would support them.

CONCEPTUAL IDEAS AND GUIDELINES OF NORTH AMERICAN MODEL OF ADULT EDUCATION

The article deals with conceptual ideas and guidelines of North American model of adult education. It is substantiated that North American model of adult education is based on the philosophical principles of liberalism, progressivism, behaviorism, humanism, radicalism, and constructivism. Liberalism has ancient roots and is based on the position that since the person is the real source of progress in society, it is necessary to ensure his/her rights and freedoms, providing equal access to education regardless of social status and well-being. The basic principle of liberal education is singled out, which is to develop a personality that meets the purpose of liberal education in ancient times – provision of education for citizens who can become active participants of a democratic society. It is proven that non-formal adult education should be continuous, focus on the development of intellectual abilities, be accessible to all layers of the population, and its content must meet their needs. It is found out that the historical roots of the philosophy of progressivism are associated with progressive political movement in society and education. Its basis is the concept of interaction between education and society, empirical theory of democratization of education. It is determined that behavioral philosophy, founded by John Watson, appeared in the USA in the early 20th century. Based on the theory of Pavlov's conditioned reflexes, its supporters (J. Watson, B. Sninner and E. Thorndike) considered personality as a set of behavioral responses to stimuli of the environment. It is identified that the purpose of adult education is the modification of a person’s behavior. It is proven that unlike behaviorists, representatives of humanistic philosophy (J. Brown, A. Maslow, M. Knowles, K. Rogers, etc.) considered a man to be independent, active, open to change and self-actualization. It is stressed that the founders of the radical trend, based on theories of anarchism, marxism, and socialism, considered education in general and adult education, in particular, as an important mechanism to achieve radical changes in society. Meanwhile, the social role of non-formal adult education was updated, because it required critical thinking and personal participation in these changes.

Racism, identity, and education: Bhaskar's report on the PhD thesis ‘Strong and Smart’ by Chris Sarra

ABSTRACT In 2005, Ram Roy Bhaskar was the examiner for a PhD thesis by Dr. Chris Sarra entitled Strong and Smart: Reinforcing Aboriginal Perceptions of Being Aboriginal at Cherbourg State School. Bhaskar described the thesis as ‘an exemplary paradigm of how research should be conducted’ and suggested that it would be ‘invaluable for all future studies of indigenous people in Australia and indeed to educationalists and social theorists throughout the world’. With thanks to Chris Sarra, we are delighted to be able to publish this examiner's report, which illustrates educational themes in Bhaskar's work and provides Bhaskar's response to Sarra's critique of his idea that there is a ‘common core humanity’. In its practical consideration of the question of human identity – a question currently much debated – this report is an excellent and timely complement to Bhaskar’s (2020) article Critical Realism and the Ontology of Persons. It also showcases Bhaskar's concepts of Power1/Power2 and concrete universality/singularity. We hope that publishing this report will draw attention to Sarra's exceptional work which, according to Bhaskar, ‘may well come to take on the role of a paradigm for multi-ethnic and similarly divided and contested communities’.

Neglected Social Theorists of Color: Deconstructing the Margins

Neglected Social Theorists of Color: Deconstructing the Margins

Inclusivity in health professional education: how can virtual simulation foster attitudes of inclusion?

Disparities in accessing quality healthcare persist among diverse populations. Health professional education should therefore promote more diversity in the health workforce, by fostering attitudes of inclusion. This paper outlines the potential of virtual simulation (VS), as one method in a system of health professional education, to promote inclusion and diversity. We conceptualise how VS can allow learners to experience an alternative to what HPE currently is by drawing on two social justice theorists, Paulo Freire, and Nancy Fraser and their ideas about ‘voice’ and ‘representation’. We present two principles for VS design and implementation: (1) giving voice to learners has the power to transform; and (2) representation in VS builds inclusion. We provide practical means of building voice and representation into VS learning activities, followed by an example. Purposeful and thoughtful integration of these principles paves the way for a more diverse and inclusive healthcare workforce.