The cultural contradictions of capitalism
The cultural contradictions of capitalism is the title of a collection of essays by the American sociologist Daniel Bell , published in 1976 (German editions 1976 and 1991).
Three areas of society
Following on from his work on post-industrial society , the author distinguishes three central areas in the essay of the title: economy, politics, culture. Each of these areas obeys a different axial principle:
- the techno-economic order follows the axial principle of functional rationality and the axial structure of bureaucracy and hierarchy
- the political order the axial principle of legitimacy and the axial structure of representation or participation (parties and social groups as vehicles of representation or means of participation in decisions)
- the culture as an area of the expressive symbolism is subject to the principle of self-axial, which by self-realization aims and self-fulfillment.
Structural tension
Structural tensions can arise between these three areas “between a social structure (essentially the technical-economic one) that is bureaucratic and hierarchical, and a political order that formally believes in equality and participation; between a social structure that is fundamentally organized around roles and specialization, and a culture that deals with the fulfillment and exaltation of the self and the 'whole' person. "
Central conflict of values
In welfare capitalism a key occurs after Bell conflict of values between the spheres of production and consumption on. A puritanical work ethic is required in production, which is counteracted by advertising and the leisure industry with hedonistic temptations and promises. "You have to be 'correct' during the day and a 'drifting around' in the evening."
literature
- The original text
- The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism . Basic Books, New York 1976, ISBN 0-465-01499-2 .
- German translations:
- The future of the western world. Culture and technology in conflict . S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 1976.
- The cultural contradictions of capitalism . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 1991, ISBN 3-593-34431-9 .
- Secondary literature
- Petra Deger: Daniel Bell. The future of the western world . In: Sven Papcke / Georg W. Oesterdiekhoff (ed.): Key works of sociology. Westdeutscher Verlag, Wiesbaden 2001, pp. 30–32.