Sociology of Critique or Critical Social Theory?

The position of “everyday social actors” and the role human suffering plays in social reality are the topics of this discussion between Luc Boltanksi and Axel Honneth. The conversation constitutes a dialogue between two distinct traditions of critical social theory: the pragmatic “sociology of critique”, developed by Boltanski and other members of the Groupe de Sociologie Politique et Morale with its French roots on the one hand, and the “theory of recognition” as a critical social theory, a revival of the German Frankfurt School tradition, on the other. The two eminent social theorists try to map the relation of everyday social actors to critical social theory as well as the relationship between theory and social practice by analysing the differing theoretical underpinnings and assumptions of the respective project. Their aim is to arrive at some understanding about viable positions from where social critique is possible without eliminating the reference to everyday experiences and self-interpretation of social actors.