The Politics of Change: Ideology and Critique

Abstract

The title of this volume seems banal. Of course, the world we live in is a changing world! Yet, what is meant by the ‘politics of change’ and how might it be possible to make practical a ‘change’ towards a society in which everybody contributes according to their ability and where everybody receives according to their needs? The demand for such a change appears outdated. This volume does not concern itself with re-introducing the majestic idea that human beings should live in a society where they are not subjected to the abstract rules of equality but, rather, where they are in control of their own affairs as equals. However outdated such a demand might appear, we consider it a universally desired human condition. Is it really necessary to justify its practical and theoretical meaning? Kant defined the Enlightenment as humanity’s attempt to leave behind its self-imposed immaturity. The task of social theory is thus to provide enlightenment not only about the misery of the human condition but, also, its social constitution and ways to transform these conditions for the better. Enlightenment is a thoroughly subversive business. The claim, then, that the demand for human conditions is outdated, is not only disturbing, it is also symptomatic of a society whose ‘laws of development’ are seen by many to be governed by an invisible — and to be sure: irresistible — hand.