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Chapter 7 Man & Society Though this may be seen as merely

objectifiying another person by not treating


How does one try to impose social change? them as subjects, Habermas argues that
It is only being aware of the process of not all forms of objectification is
social transformation do we become active inherently evil. His argument puts forth the
agents, not merely passive objects, of idea that both are necessary and are
social change. equally important in the processes of
society.
According to Jurgen Habermas, there are
distinct spheres and relations and He also argues that intersubjective relations
interactions all existing within any society. should also have limitations in aiding social
development. We need instrumental
2 Kinds of Relations and Corresponding interactions for our material needs.
Interactions in Society
However a problem arises when one of the
Personal relations two relations take predominance over the
These are characterized through other. These are situations wherein
interactions based on mutual respect and personal interactions are treated as
regard for each other not only as persons, transactional ones, and vice versa.
but more importantly as subjects. Habermas call this colonization of the
The way is interaction is considered lifeworld by social systems. To better
to be of communicative action, which is to understand this we must first learn of the life
say that humans actively converse and world and social systems.
interact for the purpose of sending or
conveying a message towards another 3 Spheres of Society
subject. According to Habermas, 3 spheres
make a society: these are the social
Transactional relations system of money, social system of
These relations are characterized power (State), and the Lifeworld.
based on the regard for each other as
means to an end, by which we mean that The social system of money is translated to
we become instruments in achieving the our experience of the economy, wherein
goals of one another. This is to ensure interactions are directed towards the
efficiency in achieving collective goals by production of good and the expansion of
setting personal matters aside. profit and gain.
Since the end goal of transactional
relations, or rather transactional The social system of power is translated to
interactions, is to gain something at the our experience of politics wherein
end, the atmosphere tends to be interactions are directed towards the
competitive because we are all trying to maintaining of social order and peace.
get what we want. Transactional
interactions are described to be In these two spheres, interactions ought to
instrumental or strategic. be strictly transactional to ensure efficiency
and erase probable causes of corruption
and favoritism. These two social systems
follow a simple language in their Historical Development of Societies and
interactions, a binary logic of having & not- the development of individual
having (money), and commanding & consciousness
obeying(power).
1. Primitive-Communal Societies
The lifeword is translated in our experience (Tribal)
of the everyday, our day to day lives. It is Primitive-communal societies are
the sphere where interactions are more societies wherein the population was
personal. This is due to the reason that it is divided into two basic social functions,
in our daily activities that we view each hunters and gatherers, and their way of life
other as human beings in casual interaction. was nomadic in nature, meaning they had
This sphere is where the formation of no permanent living space and were
cultures and norms and lifestyles occur. The constantly moving around. The atmosphere
goal of interaction in the lifeworld is to of primitive-communal societies were very
establish human connections through collectivist in nature, meaning the welfare
communicative action. of the collective (tribe) outweigh the wishes
of any given individual.
The lifeworld thrives on mutual recognition
of its constituent members, wherein 2. Master-Slave Civilizations
members of a community view each other Over time, man learned to plant their
as equals. own food and domesticate animals for
produce, typically a place near a source of
According to Habermas, our social water, like a river. However, with the
interactions helped form 2 important realms knowledge of farming along came the first
of society: social system & the lifeworld. rise of individualistic nature. Individualism,
as opposed to collectivism, is the school of
The development of societies can be thought that compels an individual to put
likened to the development of a human his/her own welfare before the welfare of
body. A person needs to grow physically the collective.
and mentally if one is to develop for the With the start of agriculture, people
needs and demands of the world. The who planted more crops controlled the
counterpart for this in the context of material reproduction of food, thus gaining
society’s development is called material dominion over those that could only produce
reproduction and symbolic reproduction. so much. This is the beginning of social
hierarchy, wherein people from one group
Material Reproduction refers to the control or influence the livelihood of other
utilization and distribution of resources for people because they consider those people
the physical survival and welfare of all beneath them, thus the master-slave
individual members. narrative is complete.

Symbolic Reproduction refers to the 3. Feudalism


proliferation, transmission, and renewal on Feudalism comes from the Latin
of cultural knowledge. word feudum meaning “possession”. This
stage is what we commonly regard as The Capitalist societies would then
Middle Ages as it was during the age of impose a free market, an economic system
monarchs in the world. During the span of wherein individuals may start their own
the feudal age, the possession of land private business and compete with other
was given in exchange for services, people for profit, so that everyone has the
usually in the form of military and political opportunity to maximize their own individual
support. gains. This lead to more individualistic
Kings would give land to lords, in tendencies wherein the sole goal of any
exchange for support. Lords would then interaction was ultimately just for personal
pass on smaller portions to lesser lords on gain, and not for the good of the collective,
similar terms. Lesser lords would do the which in this day and age would mean the
same to local lords, and then local lords to entirety of humanity.
the peasants. During the feudal age, the
idea of having social hierarchy was
strengthened until there was class division
amongst its people, with the peasantry
ending up on the marginal sectors of society
despite making up most of the population.
After the decline of feudalism in
Europe, peasants now had the freedom to
work where they want and they now had
bargaining power for the wages they earn.
Money replaced Manpower as the key
agent of economic and political power.

4. Capitalism
By the end of the feudal age, people
started venturing into the idea of a capitalist
society. Capitalism is a economic and
cultural system characterized by the idea of
innovation and investment to increase
wealth. Capitalism had its breakthrough
when Industrial Capitalism changed the
playing field.
Industrial Capitalism is an
economic system that relies on the
investment on machinery and technology
that are used to increase the production of
marketable goods thereby maximizing profit.
Machinery replaced workers in the
workforce due to the high efficiency that
machines had over human workers, plus it
meant more profit since you have less
wages to pay.

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