Social Movements and Symbolic Power : Radicalism, Reform, and the Trial of Democracy in France

by Girling, John

• ISBN13: 9781403933799
• ISBN10: 1403933790
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-04-24
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

The important theories of Pierre Bourdieu and Alain Touraine, discussed in this book, seek to explain and resolve the "crisis of democracy." They start from a critique of structural inequality in political, economic and social fields - so much in contrast to democratic principles. But their theoretical perspectives and social conclusions diverge. Bourdieu insists on the radical overthrow of dominant institutions and their control of knowledge ("symbolic power"). Touraine advocates reformist cooperation as well as contestation between social movements and political institutions. Their different approaches provide compelling insights into the "democratic deficit" of modern society, that is, inability to overcome the widespread discrimination affecting women, the weaknesses of the environmental movement, persisting educational inequalities and the precarious nature of work in a global economy.

Author Biography

John Girling is a retired researcher, formerly of Australian National University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vii
Introduction	1	(5)
Formative factors of modern France	6	(5)
A summary of events since 1981	11	(2)
Social Critique: Discrimination and Inequality	13	(18)
Rich and poor	18	(2)
The place of women	20	(1)
Education	21	(2)
Work and inequality	23	(2)
Insecurity	25	(2)
Social fracture	27	(4)
Touraine and Bourdieu: Two Perspectives	31	(22)
Touraine and the crisis of modernity	32	(6)
Bourdieu: structural domination, symbolic power	38	(15)
Social Change: Radicalism or Reform	53	(30)
Coping with capitalism	54	(1)
Radicalism or reform	55	(3)
Welfare confrontation	58	(2)
Critique of social movements and symbolic power	60	(3)
Environment: the political will	63	(8)
Education: elite or mass	71	(5)
Permissive society: individual freedom or social evasion	76	(4)
The autonomy project	80	(3)
The Rights of Women: a Case Study	83	(52)
Theoretical perspectives	83	(11)
Against discrimination: social movements	94	(18)
Identity and symbolic power	112	(23)
Conclusion	135	(14)
Economics, politics and civil society	135	(5)
Democratic deficit	140	(9)
Appendix: Structure/Action Theories of Bourdieu, Touraine, Giddens and Archer: a Comparison	149	(8)
Bibliography	157	(6)
Index	163