William Graham Sumner: Critical theorist of modernity.
Item
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Title
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William Graham Sumner: Critical theorist of modernity.
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Identifier
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AAI9009750
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identifier
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9009750
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Creator
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Koegel, Robert.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Michael Brown
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Date
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1989
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, General | Sociology, Social Structure and Development | Sociology, Theory and Methods
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Abstract
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This dissertation argues that William Graham Sumner developed a critical analysis of the economic, political, and cultural characteristics of modern society. Sumner wrestled with several distinctively modern problems still addressed in contemporary critiques of late capitalism.;First, Sumner analyzed the political conflicts confronting capitalist modernization in the 1870's and elaborated his ideas in regard to three points: private interests use state power to promote their own interests over societal welfare; competition among interest groups subverts political processes and policies; the possibility of social reform depends on the institutionalization of conditions for civic virtue.;Second, he explored the societal ramifications of vast accumulations of wealth, the new forms of power, and the "sensationalist culture" of "luxury" in the early 1880's.;Third, he examined how the modern economy's operation generates powerful interests that undermine the capacity of modern science, education, and law to modify social life in the late 1880's and 1890's.;Fourth, he provided, in Folkways, an analysis of two key theoretical issues: the role of force in social development and the position of the moral order in social structure. Sumner attempted to conceptualize a degree of relative autonomy of the moral order in its relation to material "life conditions." He argued that a constant renewal through collectivized agency and social change is necessary to support a functionally effective morality.;Fifth, he applied the theoretical concepts he developed in Folkways in a final analysis of modernity which shares the concerns of Progressives about concentrated wealth and corruption, but was more critical and pessimistic in regard to the depth of the modern crisis, the extent to which corruption is located at the core of modern society, and the possibility of overriding the economic, political, and social power that enables particular interests to counter policies of general reform. In short, Sumner's work provides a non-Marxist socio-historical analysis of force, the limits of human agency, and the relationship between culture and life conditions.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
