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Karl Mannheim on democratic interaction: Revisiting mass society theory

Karl Mannheim on democratic interaction: Revisiting mass society theory Abstract This essay re-considers Karl Mannheim’s notion of democratic behaviour in the context of mass society. Although the term ‘mass society’ seems archaic, it is still the precondition of democracy today. Mannheim conceptualized mass society as irrational, disintegrating Great Society and presented the remedy of Planning for Freedom to counter the crisis of mass democracy. In his remedy Mannheim advocated social education that fosters citizens’ democratic interaction, and the keywords of his education were ‘integrative behaviour’ and ‘creative tolerance’. The similar orientation of his remedy can be found in much more contemporary critiques of deliberative democracy. Iris Marion Young’s ‘communicative democracy’ was a version of her democratic interaction in a complex, large-scale mass society. Young’s notion of ‘reasonableness’ has substantial affinity with Mannheim’s integrative behaviour, both of which require the democratic attitude of hearing the other side and the readiness to self-transform. Mass society theory has relevance for contemporary democratic theory. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Human Affairs de Gruyter

Karl Mannheim on democratic interaction: Revisiting mass society theory

Human Affairs , Volume 26 (2) – Apr 1, 2016

Karl Mannheim on democratic interaction: Revisiting mass society theory


This essay re-considers Karl Mannheim's notion of democratic behaviour in the context of mass society. Although the term `mass society' seems archaic, it is still the precondition of democracy today. Mannheim conceptualized mass society as irrational, disintegrating Great Society and presented the remedy of Planning for Freedom to counter the crisis of mass democracy. In his remedy Mannheim advocated social education that fosters citizens' democratic interaction, and the keywords of his education were `integrative behaviour' and `creative tolerance'. The similar orientation of his remedy can be found in much more contemporary critiques of deliberative democracy. Iris Marion Young's `communicative democracy' was a version of her democratic interaction in a complex, large-scale mass society. Young's notion of `reasonableness' has substantial affinity with Mannheim's integrative behaviour, both of which require the democratic attitude of hearing the other side and the readiness to self-transform. Mass society theory has relevance for contemporary democratic theory. Key words: Karl Mannheim; mass society; democratic interaction; deliberative democracy; Iris Marion Young. Introduction Citizens' interactions in the public sphere are not always democratic, and civil society is often uncivil. Although many political philosophers of deliberative democracy have argued about the public use of reason, there are many irrational phenomena in a society, including some kinds of populist movements, emotional hate speech, and hostile internet flaming. The way to change people's interaction to be more democratic and civil is a significant question in democratic theory, and not only philosophical discussions but also sociological and social-psychological insights are needed. In this respect, a recently forgotten classical term is recalled: `mass society'. An earlier version of this essay was presented at the Political...
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References (22)

Publisher
de Gruyter
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 by the
ISSN
1210-3055
eISSN
1337-401X
DOI
10.1515/humaff-2016-0011
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Abstract This essay re-considers Karl Mannheim’s notion of democratic behaviour in the context of mass society. Although the term ‘mass society’ seems archaic, it is still the precondition of democracy today. Mannheim conceptualized mass society as irrational, disintegrating Great Society and presented the remedy of Planning for Freedom to counter the crisis of mass democracy. In his remedy Mannheim advocated social education that fosters citizens’ democratic interaction, and the keywords of his education were ‘integrative behaviour’ and ‘creative tolerance’. The similar orientation of his remedy can be found in much more contemporary critiques of deliberative democracy. Iris Marion Young’s ‘communicative democracy’ was a version of her democratic interaction in a complex, large-scale mass society. Young’s notion of ‘reasonableness’ has substantial affinity with Mannheim’s integrative behaviour, both of which require the democratic attitude of hearing the other side and the readiness to self-transform. Mass society theory has relevance for contemporary democratic theory.

Journal

Human Affairsde Gruyter

Published: Apr 1, 2016

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