Habermas conceived revolution as gradual repoliticization of a dried-up public sphere
Evidence
For Habermas, the revolutionizing of highly developed industrial societies was only conceivable in the following scenario: a surfeit of achievable affluence would one day make even a working population that had become integrated into the system irritated by bureaucratized forms of work and existence. Those in power, in order to continue to receive the labour required from a population no longer prepared to make unnecessary sacrifices, would therefore have to consent to the repoliticization of a public sphere that had dried up. A newly political public would then reach an agreement over the goals of social action. The function of the protest movement, in Habermas’s eyes, could only be to use pressure from below, or from outside, to strengthen or revive democracy within organizations such as political parties, trade unions and other bodies, and to strengthen or revive the functioning of the mass media as organs of criticism. In an extremely mediated fashion, this would serve to democratize complex societies and de-bureaucratize power. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2656
Categorization
- XREF: Directly extends the public-sphere thesis from ch83-84. — connects to: Habermas sought de-alienated labor while conservative theorists sought mass habituation — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2309; Habermas saw revolution arising from affluence-induced irritation and repoliticization, not violent coup — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2656; Habermas came to accept limited rule-breaking as legitimate for politicizing the public sphere — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2649 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Habermas saw revolution arising from affluence-induced irritation and repoliticization, not violent coup
#corroborates(0.95) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2656 - Habermas saw critical internal public spheres supervising organizations as the route out of domination
#expands(0.82) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2377 - Habermas came to accept limited rule-breaking as legitimate for politicizing the public sphere
#qualifies(0.80) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2649 - Habermas abandoned labeling direct action as a form of fascism
#qualifies(0.78) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2649