Anthony Giddens: An Introduction to a Social Theorist

244 Pages·2000·11.639 MB·English

by  Lars Bo Kaspersen

LARS BO KASPERSEN
AN INTRODUCTION TO A SOCIAL THEORIST
B
NUNC COCNOSCO EX PARTE
TRENT UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
PRESENTED BY
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF
SOCIOLOGY ONLINE
Anthony Giddens: An Introduction to a
Social Theorist
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2019 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/anthonygiddensinOOOOkasp
Anthony Giddens
An Introduction to a Social Theorist
Lars Bo Kaspersen
Translated by Steven Sampson
THoma* J. Bata Library
TRENT UNIVERSITY
PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO
BLACKWELL
Publishers
Copyright © Lars Bo Kaspersen and Hans Reitzels Forlag A/S, Copenhagen 1995
Emglish translation copyright © Steven Sampson 2000
First published in Danish as Anthony Giddens: Introduktion til en Samfundsteoretiker by
Hans Reitzels Forlag A/S, Copenhagen, 1995
First published in English 2000
This English edition has been published with the support of Statens Samfunsvidenskabelige
Forskningsrad in Denmark.
2 46 8 109 7 5 3 1
Blackwell Publishers Ltd
108 Cowley Road
Oxford OX4 1JF
UK
Blackwell Publishers Inc.
350 Main Street
Malden, Massachusetts 02148
USA
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism
and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it
shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated
without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in
which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being
imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kaspersen, Lars Bo.
[Anthony Giddens. English]
Anthony Giddens : an introduction to a social theorist / Lars Bo Kaspersen ; translated
by Steven Sampson,
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-631-20733-3 (hb : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-631-20734-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Giddens, Anthony. 2. Sociology—Methodology. 3. Social structure. 4.
Sociology—Great Britain. I. Title.
HM479.G54 K3713 2000
301'.01—dc21
99-085968
Typeset in 10 on 12 pt Galliard
by Ace Filmsetting Ltd, Frome, Somerset
Printed in Great Britain by T. J. International, Padstow, Cornwall
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Contents
Preface vi
Introduction 1
1 Anthony Giddens, the Positive Critic: the Dialogue with
Classical and Modern Sociology 8
2 Giddens as Constructor: the Theory of Structuration as a
Response to the Dualism of Social Theory 31
3 The Theory of Structuration: Studying the Social Order and
Social Change - Breaking with Evolutionism 51
4 Giddens’s Theory of the State: the Nation-state and War 66
5 The Analysis of Modernity: Globalization, the Transformation
of Intimacy, and the Post-traditional Society 84
6 Giddens and Politics: toward Positive Welfare, Generative
Politics, and the Radical Center 114
7 The Post-traditional Society and Radical Politics: an Interview
with Anthony Giddens 143
8 Giddens’s Social and Political Theory: Some Critical
Viewpoints 157
Epilogue 188
Bibliography 197
Index 218
Preface
This book is not another critical introduction to Anthony Giddens’s soci¬
ology and social theory. It is, rather, an introduction with a critique. To
add another book to the Giddens industry may seem futile and silly, but I
do claim that this book is needed, because it is the first genuine introduc¬
tion to the universe of Anthony Giddens’s social theory and sociology.
Several books “introducing” and debating Giddens have appeared since
the late 1980s, but either they are quite advanced critical discussions of
Giddens’s work or they pretend to be introductory but do not succeed,
because they all have the main aim of criticizing Giddens’s work. It is per¬
fectly legitimate to discuss and criticize Giddens (it is absolutely neces¬
sary!), but such a project does not always provide the best introduction for
new students. This is exactly the purpose of this book: to introduce new
students to Giddens’s social theory, including his latest writings on poli¬
tics, which are omitted in most other books.
Since the early 1970s, Giddens has criticized classical and modern soci-
ology, but also contributed with his own constructions: structuration and
modernity theory. Most recently, he has entered into politics. Giddens is
one of the most productive sociologists of our time. Since 1960, he has
published 33 books (authored, co-authored, and edited), approximately
85 major articles, and more than 250 minor articles and book reviews. In
the wake of his considerable contributions to sociology and other social
sciences are dozens of articles and books by colleagues discussing his work.
Giddens is today a “global phenomenon,” translated into many languages
and read in almost all sociology curricula.
Giddens is an interesting sociologist who covers a wide range of inter¬
ests. He manages to get to the center of sociological discussions and is
therefore someone you must relate to. Unfortunately, his writing some¬
times contains too many neologisms and difficult expressions, convoluted
Preface vii
theoretical language, and very few examples. This makes him less access¬
ible, which means that many potential readers are scared off from the be¬
ginning. In addition, he often presumes that readers are acquainted with a
whole range ot theories within social theory, philosophy, and sociology,
automatically creating problems for students without this knowledge.
Such difficulties cannot be avoided completely and are, in a way, part of
the learning process for those who are interested in social theory. Still, I
find that Giddens’s theoretical work makes an introductory book neces¬
sary. The purpose of this book is, therefore, to introduce his conceptual
universe and its preconditions, so that new Giddens readers can start here.
An introductory book cannot, of course, replace Giddens’s own texts, but
it can help to remove the worst obstacles to their understanding.
The primary target groups are undergraduates and graduates at univer¬
sities and business schools, but sociology and social science teachers at high
school level and in health care, social work education, and pedagogical
education will also find the book helpful for an overview of Giddens’s the¬
ories. One or two semesters of social science theory at university level are,
however, required for comprehension of some of the chapters.
I have worked on Giddens for several years, and many people have pro¬
vided support, advice and criticism. My interest was aroused almost fifteen
years ago when I first read Giddens’s book Sociology - a Brief but Critical
Introduction. Later followed an intense period at the University of Sussex,
and I am indebted to Gillian Rose and William Outhwaite for good and
inspiring discussions about Giddens’s theories. My master’s thesis on
Giddens, the basis of chapters 3 and 4 in this book, was completed at the
Department of Sociology in Copenhagen, and I want to thank Tom Brock
for great and lively discussions and Goran Djurfeldt for good and thor¬
ough supervision. At the University of California, Santa Barbara, Thomas
P. Wilson, John Mohr, and Connie McNeely helped me through a bumpy
Giddens period with their wit and humor. Throughout, Anne Binzer
Sorensen and Morten Wiberg have been extremely helpful and contrib¬
uted many ideas and critical comments. Thanks are also due to Anthony
Giddens for help and willingness in connection with interviews and discus¬
sions of central themes in his production. The real reason this book was
written is, however, the students at the Department of Political Science,
University of Aarhus, who participated in my seminars, read working pa¬
pers, and gave me ideas and criticism. Thanks to all. In the last phase of the
book I owe special thanks to William Outhwaite, Poul Poder Pedersen,
Mette Rjxr, Keld Hosbond, Lisbeth Gudmand-Hoyer, Anja Jacobsen,
Carsten Jorgensen, Vibeke Boolsen, Erik Gudmand-Hoyer and Anne Binzer
Sorensen, who all read and commented on the manuscript. I hanks for the
critical comments which were sometimes (mistakenly?) ignored, d hanks to
viii Preface
Steven Sampson for doing the translation and many thanks to Louise Eff
for doing the bibliography and reading the manuscript. Many, many thanks
to Annette Bruun Andersen for word processing, some translation and proof¬
reading. I am also grateful to the Danish Social Science Council, which
provided financial support for the translation. Finally, thanks go to Hanne
for her cooperation and tolerance - and to William and Vincent for all the
challenges!
Please note that all references pertain to Giddens, unless otherwise stated.
Lars Bo Kaspersen
Copenhagen