Table Of ContentSocial Movements and Symbolic Power
Also by John Girling
AMERICA AND THE THIRD WORLD
CAPITAL AND POWER
CORRUPTION, CAPITALISM AND DEMOCRACY
FRANCE: Political and Social Change
Social Movements and
Symbolic Power
Radicalism, Reform and the Trial of
Democracy in France
John Girling
© John Girling 2004
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2004 978-1-4039-3379-9
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Girling,J.L.S.
Social movements & symbolic power :radicalism,reform and the trial
of democracy in France / by John Girling.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Social movements – France. 2. Social structure – France.
3. Democracy – France. 4. Elite (Social sciences) – France.
5. Polarization (Social sciences) 6. Social action – France. 7. Social
classes – France. 8. Minorities – France – Social conditions.
9. Bourdieu,Pierre. 10. Touraine,Alain. 11. Sociology – Philosophy.
I. Title:Social movements and symbolic power. II. Title.
HN430.G57 2004
303.48¢4¢0944 – dc22 2003062095
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction 1
Formative factors of modern France 6
A summary of events since 1981 11
1. Social Critique: Discrimination and Inequality 13
Rich and poor 18
The place of women 20
Education 21
Work and inequality 23
Insecurity 25
Social fracture 27
2. Touraine and Bourdieu: Two Perspectives 31
Touraine and the crisis of modernity 32
Bourdieu: structural domination, symbolic power 38
3. Social Change: Radicalism or Reform 53
Coping with capitalism 54
Radicalism or reform 55
Welfare confrontation 58
Critique of social movements and symbolic power 60
Environment: the political will 63
Education: elite or mass 71
Permissive society: individual freedom or social evasion 76
The autonomy project 80
4. The Rights of Women: a Case Study 83
1. Theoretical perspectives 83
2. Against discrimination: social movements 94
3. Identity and symbolic power 112
5. Conclusion 135
1. Economics, politics and civil society 135
2. Democratic deficit 140
v
vi Contents
Appendix: Structure/Action Theories of Bourdieu, Touraine, Giddens
and Archer: a Comparison 149
Bibliography 157
Index 163
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to the late Pierre Bourdieu for reading my critical assess-
ment of his work (in Chapter 2) and approving it as ‘juste et précis’; and
to Alain Touraine for a lengthy interview on the ‘crisis of modernity’
and subsequent correspondence. My thanks, too, to Christine Delphy
for endorsing my discussion of her major themes; to two anonymous
readers of an earlier version of my text: one for an effective overall
critique, the other for good advice on feminism; to William Outhwaite
for evaluating the entire text and suggesting certain improvements;
and to Briar Towers and Jennifer Nelson of Palgrave for bringing it to
completion.
vii
Introduction
Crucially, the theories of Alain Touraine and Pierre Bourdieu – empha-
sising ‘social movements’ and ‘symbolic power’, respectively – provide
explanations and offer solutions of the ‘crisis of democracy’, revealed
throughout the developed world and in particular in France. Consider
the unusually high abstention from voting in the first round of the 2002
presidential elections, supposedly the most important event in the
political calendar; then the astonishing rise to prominence of an
extreme rightwing demagogue, denouncing immigrants and their ‘crim-
inal’ tendencies as well as establishment (‘rotten’) politicians, and
proclaiming a strident, inward-looking nationalism; and finally the
evidence of popular disillusionment – going far beyond the ranks of Le
Pen’s suppporters – with political institutions and representatives, seen
as corrupt, elitist and out of touch.
Certainly, Le Pen was heavily defeated by Chirac in the second round
of presidential elections. But Le Pen is a symptom, not the problem. The
problem is the democratic malaise that produces extremists like Le Pen
– a malaise that reflects the very uneven development of economy and
society. (That Chirac – a tainted figure – should be the one to uphold
democratic values against Le Pen is a commentary on this state of
affairs.)
The political sociologist Yves Mény, president of the European Uni-
versity Institute, sums up the situation well:
[European] populism...is a degeneration of our democratic
systems...It arises when the gap between political supply and
popular demand becomes too great, when the elites reveal them-
selves to be incapable of tackling the problems expressed by society,
when democratic frustrations become too strong. The transmission
1
J. Girling, Social Movements and Symbolic Power
© John Girling 2004
2 Social Movements and Symbolic Power
belt of political representation either no longer functions or func-
tions badly. (Le Monde, 19–20 May 2002)
And Mény asks, specifically in relation to France: where are the working
and lower middle-class deputies? Where are the Arab, Black or Asian
deputies? The women? The youth? What place do they have in our
institutions? (Of 557 deputies elected in 2002, only 68 are women,
while a handful of working-class deputies ‘represent’ some five and a
half million workers. There are no deputies whose parents are North
African – the major immigrant community.)
Structural inequality – in social and economic as in political spheres
– and the resulting feeling of discrimination are at the heart of the
democratic malaise. (These are analysed in my first chapter.) Note that
much of the support for the extreme right – and the extreme left – comes
from the ‘victims’ of modernisation: those left behind by social change
and who feel abandoned by established politicians. More generally,
widespread inequality at work, in educational opportunities and in
access to social goods makes a mockery of the democratic ideals of
liberty, equality and fraternity.
It is in seeking to understand the reasons for this ‘social fracture’
that the work of Bourdieu and Touraine is so valuable. For the
fragmented and polarised state of society underlines the relevance
not only of Bourdieu’s radical critique of France’s dominant elites
but also of Touraine’s reformist persuasion, advocating cooperation as
well as contestation in the relations of social movements with political
institutions. But Touraine is no less critical of modern society, which he
sees as no longer held together by a unifying principle, but reflecting
instead the divergent forces of economy, politics and culture.
Social critique, (contrasting) theoretical perspectives and responsive-
ness to social change are key features of the work of Bourdieu and
Touraine. They are analysed at length in my second chapter. The major
themes can be summarised as follows.
Social critique: Pierre Bourdieu and Alain Touraine, both eminent
sociologists, theorise structures of domination – in economy, politics
and society – resulting in discrimination and social inequality. Educa-
tion is one example: for Bourdieu it is the transformation of ‘inherited
capital’ (superior social origins) into educational capital, whereby schol-
arly degrees legitimise subsequent elitist careers. The ‘Republican model’
is another: for Touraine the Republican tradition imposes unity (in the
service of state power and the demands of the economy) on a diverse
society, constraining people’s freedom and creativity.
