Nation state, capitalism, democracy: Philosophical and political motives in the thought of jürgen habermas

Stefan Müller-Doohm, Stefan Bird-Pollan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

This article attempts, for the first time, to link some central motives in the thought of Jürgen Habermas with the biographical experiences of the philosopher and social theorist. What are the relations which Habermas himself thematizes in his life story by means of discursive analysis? Three elements are central: the change in significance of the nation state against the backdrop of the process of European integration, the concept of a deliberative democracy, and the timely and controversial issue of the taming of world capitalism. Finally, the article discusses the question of how plausible it is that there is no alternative to capitalism and to what extent democracy can tame capitalism.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)443-457
Number of pages15
JournalEuropean Journal of Social Theory
Volume13
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2010

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science

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