Suzanne Keller

Suzanne Keller (born Susanne Infeld , born April 16, 1927 in Vienna , † December 9, 2010 in Miami ) was an American sociologist of Austrian origin.

Keller, who was naturalized in the United States in 1944, studied at Hunter College in New York City and Columbia University . She then worked at Princeton University , MIT and Brandeis University . From 1968 until her retirement , she was Professor of Sociology at Princeton University. She has made significant contributions to the sociology of elites .

Keller's elite sociology

For her work “Beyond the Ruling Class”, Suzanne Keller examined the elites of US industrial society in the 1960s. It defines elites as minorities of individuals who are supposed to serve the common good of society. They are responsible for the effective achievement of larger social goals (e.g. prosperity, freedom, progress, sovereignty, etc.) in society and for maintaining the stability of the social order .

In her work, Keller focuses on the elites, whose decisions have consequences for a large part of society. Keller calls these elites strategic elites. They have only become necessary through industrial society and the associated population growth, the expansion of the division of labor , the increase in formal organization and moral differentiation . They can be found in politics, economics, the military, as well as in the moral, cultural and scientific fields.

As a theoretical basis, Keller ties in with the functionalist systems theory of Talcott Parsons and his AGIL scheme . According to this, society consists of different subsystems that are geared towards a common general goal. Each subsystem performs a function to achieve the goal and solve a functional problem in society. Institutions and practices to fulfill the function arise within the subsystems. Values ​​and moral order form the framework for society and for the subsystems.

The following problems arise from this theory: In reality there is no clear separation of different subsystems and functions. Some systems have multiple functions. Furthermore, this theory does not explain how rules, crises and social change arise . That is why Keller introduces the concept of strategic elites. They determine the rules, make change possible and explain why no clear separation between the subsystems is possible. Elites are people and not only meet functional requirements, but also take on different roles in different systems.

The strategic elite subdivides Keller again and differentiates between external elites, which are judged on their efficiency and are usually supposed to take on the following functions:

• Goal attainment: Elites define collective goals and decide how resources are used to achieve them. The politics subsystem takes on this function.
• Adaptation: Elites develop and use means to achieve the collective goals. The economic, military and scientific subsystems perform this function.

The internal elites are judged on their public impression and what they represent and take on the following functions:

• Integration: Elites combine different perspectives and provide a moral framework. This function is taken over by the spiritual, philosophical and ethical elite.
• Pattern Maintenance and Tension Management: Elites ensure that individual morals are in line with group morals and have the function of ensuring that people act in conformity with their roles. Artists, writers, film stars and athletes take on this task.

With her work, Keller provides an explanation for the emergence of elites, but also a legitimation for elites and their power to determine. Keller was of the opinion, however, that access to elites does not depend on the social background, but on the performance of the members, which cannot be explained empirically.

Fonts (selection)

• Beyond the Ruling Class , 1963.
• Male and Female: A Sociological View , 1975.
• Celebrities as a National Elite , 1982.
• Community: Pursuing the Dream, Living the Reality , 2004.

literature

• Christine Chancellor: Keller, Suzanne. In: Brigitta Keintzel, Ilse Korotin (ed.): Scientists in and from Austria. Life - work - work. Böhlau, Vienna / Cologne / Weimar 2002, ISBN 3-205-99467-1 , pp. 357–361.

Web links

• Obituary for Suzanne Keller (Princeton University )
• Literature by and about Suzanne Keller in the bibliographic database WorldCat

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Suzanne Keller (1963). Beyond the ruling class. Strategic Elites in Modern Society. New York: Random House. Chapter 1: Introduction
2. ↑ ibid. Chapter 4: The Social Functions of Strategic Elites
3. ↑ See Morten Reitmayer: Elites, power elites, functional elites, change of elites