Social criticism

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Social criticism is a form of academic or journalistic criticism focusing on social issues in contemporary society, in respect to perceived injustices and power relations in general.

Social criticism of the Enlightenment

The origin of modern social criticism go back at least to the

Spinoza and his circle.[1] Radical enlighteners like Jean Meslier were not satisfied with the social criticism of the time, which was essentially a criticism of religion. The focus of his criticism was the suffering of the peasants. In addition, there was also a criticism of civilization for religious reasons, such as that which emanated from the Quakers in England. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
developed a social criticism in his political philosophy which influenced the French Revolution and in his pedagogy.

Academic forms

The positivism dispute between critical rationalism, e.g. between Karl Popper and the Frankfurt School,[2] dealt with the question of whether research in the social sciences should be "neutral" or consciously adopt a partisan view. Academic works of social criticism can belong to social philosophy, political economy, sociology, social psychology, psychoanalysis but also cultural studies and other disciplines or reject academic forms of discourse.[3]

In literature and music

See also: Literary criticism

Social criticism can be expressed in a fictional form, e.g. in a

children's books or films. According to Frederick Douglass, "Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe."[4]

Fictional literature can have a significant social impact. For example, the 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe furthered the anti-slavery movement in the United States, and the 1885 novel Ramona, by Helen Hunt Jackson, brought about changes in laws regarding Native Americans. Similarly, Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel The Jungle helped create new laws related to public health and food handling, and Arthur Morrison's 1896 novel A Child of the Jago caused England to change its housing laws.[citation needed]

Russian history. Both authors also demonstrate that violence and the Machiavellian attitude of "the ends justifying the means" are deplorable. They also express their authors' disenchantment with the state of evolution of human nature.[citation needed
]

Dickens and Orwell imply, that even if humans begin with honourable intentions, there will be some who will let their basic instincts take control. In A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens examines the inner soul, and shares with us how people are driven to the valley of human emotions, where desperation and anger reign, and what could happen afterwards if we let these emotions build up inside. Every human being is capable of becoming a ruthless, opportunistic being like Napoleon or Madame Defarge, if placed in the right place, at the right time. Animal Farm portrays this nature through parodying events in real history. Given the right conditions, these events could happen anywhere, for example a leader becoming overly ambitious to the point of harming his people for more power.

Social criticism is present in

2Pac
.

Literature

Classical writings

Important contemporary works

  • Audre Lorde: Sister Outsider, 1984
  • Michel Henry: La barbarie. Bernard Grasset, Paris 1987,engl. Barbarism, Continuum 2012
  • Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak: Can the Subaltern Speak? in: Cary Nelson & Lawrence Grossberg (Hgg.): Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture, University of Illinois Press, Chicago 1988,
  • Judith Butler: Gender Trouble. 1989
  • Monique Wittig: The Straight Mind and other Essays, 1992
  • Raewyn Connell: Masculinities. 1995
  • Richard Sennett: The corrosion of character. The Personal Consequences Of Work In the New Capitalism. 1998
  • Noam Chomsky: Manufacturing Consent. 1988. Profit over People. 2000
  • Gilbert Rist: Le développement, Histoire d’une croyance occidentale. Presses de Sciences Po, Paris 1996 – engl. The History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith. Zed Books, London 2003
  • The Insanity of Normality: Understanding Human Destructiveness
    . Human Development Books, Berkeley 2007

See also

References

  1. ^ Jonatahan Israel Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650-1750, Oxford University Press 2002
  2. S2CID 147263662
    .
  3. ^ "Types of Literary Criticism".
  4. ^ From Douglass's speech in 1886 on the 24th anniversary of emancipation, Washington, D.C.
  5. ^ Mark Savage (2022-05-03). "Sex Pistols to re-release God Save the Queen ahead of Jubilee". BBC. Retrieved 2025-04-17.
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