Progress and technology in Habermas's theory of social evolution

Graeme Kirkpatrick

pp. 163-189

in: Paul Blackledge, Graeme Kirkpatrick (eds), Historical materialism and social evolution, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2002

Abstract

This study confronts Habermas's theory of social evolution with the development of "personal computing" as a socio-technical phenomenon with economic, political and cultural significance. It begins, in the first section, with an overview of Habermas's theory, in which the place of technology and the technical in his model of social and historical change are emphasized. The second section describes the emergence, over the last two or three decades, of the personal computer (PC). The origins of this machine in a specific sub-culture are stressed and some relevant peculiarities of the members and practices of that sub-culture are discussed. It is argued throughout that Habermas's differentiated concept of the social, especially as modified by Harry Kunneman (1990) offers a suggestive and nuanced perspective on this technological development. In developing this idea, I employ a strategy recommended by Habermas, namely, that of clarifying historical and social reasons for the failure of a set of ideas, in this case design principles for the PC interface, by exploring the counterfactual state of affairs.

Cited authors

Habermas Jürgen