Class Society
Elements of class society theories:
- inequality and powerlessness
- expansion of capitalism
- self-centeredness; impersonality; people become commodities
- science used as ideology to justify status quo
- seeks technical solutions
to social problems
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Notes:
Critical theory is an approach to both philosophy and the social
sciences that integrates the two with the goal of praxis- to
link theory and practice. Critical theorists provide insight and
focus on empowerment. People are encouraged to reflect on their
circumstances and work to alter oppressive conditions.
The critical theorist Herbert Marcuse has been especially
critical of the problems inherent in large scale mass capitalist
societies. Modern society has not lived up to even its own rhetoric
in that it has failed to address adequately the problems of
inequality and poverty. Technology produces well being-
but only for a privileged few and that located primarily in the
developed world. Technology in effect reduces the control
people have over their lives. It limits their personal and
emotional choices and results in a small cadre of highly trained
specialists who then control the implementations and uses of
technologies. In other words, technology in general may cause
more problems than it solves.
At its very most basic level, contemporary society fails to
fulfill its own promises. Marcuse sees this most transparently
in these ways:
warfare persists, millions of people remain hungry as the
ecology deteriorates on a global scale
the consciousness of people is daily manipulated through
the media and a focus on consumerism
success is ephemeral and beneath the transient glow lurks
undeniable ugliness, unfulfilled dreams, and deep
dissatisfaction
You can read more about Marcuse at: