5 Sociology in the Spiral of Holism and Individualism1
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5
Sociology in the Spiral of
Holism and Individualism1
Louis Chauvel
The most visible trait of the French collective individual based explanations are less con-
experience of sociology is a creative tension vincing than holistic ones.
between the themes of holism and individu- In order to explain the French spiral
alism. These are spirals of two conflicting between holism and individualism, I will
but merging sociological galaxies.2 Though describe the most important historical steps
this uninterrupted debate cannot exhaust the of this debate. I will avoid the discussion
diversity in the French tradition, such a con- on the relation between theoretical wars and
flictive pattern remains a specifically French strategies of access to institutional hege-
way of doing sociology. Since no side is mony; in the French context, it is sometimes
about to definitely replace the other, the eter- difficult to separate these two sides of the
nal contradictions create strong forces where Parisian scientific life.
the temporary success of one side promotes
further developments on the other.
If these tensions are widespread in the
diverse sociological traditions in the world, THE DURKHEIM VERSUS TARDE
the richness of French sociology is based on an CONFLICT IN A CENTENNIAL
exacerbation of these dynamics. The French PERSPECTIVE
experience could be interesting and useful to
the other sociological traditions in the world, From the late nineteenth century to the
for various reasons: it is not submerged by mid 1970s, French sociology’s mainstream
a mainstream; its debates are holistic – not epistemology is based on the Durkheimian
only based on a critique of political econ- paradigm of rejection of individualistic expla-
omy (Steiner, 2008); it seeks answers from nation in social sciences. Emile Durkheim, in
Collective Action Theory (CAT), Rational continuity of Auguste Comte’s sociological
Action Theory (RAT) (Steiner, 2008); and positivism, imported from natural sciences
it engages with non-western traditions, such various characteristics: exteriority of scien-
as China and India (Dumont, 1977), where tific objects, general refusal of metaphysics,
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teleological causality, subjectivity of social sensitivity to methodology, and lack of politi-
objects. Even though Durkheim’s injunc- cal support of an academic network in contrast
tion to ‘treat social facts as things’3 does to Durkheim.5
not literally imply a ‘consideration of social In empirical and methodological terms,
actors as passive material’, many followers Durkheim’s theory remains indisputable.
of Durkheim have conceptual difficulties Compared to Durkheim’s program of scien-
analyzing individuals. Though it can be said tificization of sociology, Tarde’s sociology
that Emile Durkheim’s sociology is more dia- does not show an interest in methodology.
lectic, diverse and subtle about individualism Tarde did not conduct serious empirical
(Durkheim, 1898), the first French tradition research nor presented scientific demonstra-
of sociology has emphasized explanations of tion of his ideas. He remained an essayist in
collective phenomena in which the whole ‘is the French tradition of philosophy. Against
more than the sum of the parts’.4 Sometimes, this, while preparing Le Suicide (The Suicide)
‘the part is not important at all’ is the syllogis- (1897), Durkheim sent his nephew, the future
tic interpretation of the Durkheimist motto. anthropologist Marcel Mauss, to the archives
In late nineteenth-century France, the of the Department of Justice, to organize
Durkheimian legacy had to fight a battle statistical tables and thereby to demonstrate
with another competing sociological vision, the limitation of Tarde’s theory. In spite of
that of Gabriel Tarde (1843–1904), an ini- Tarde’s (1897) attempt to defend his views,
tiator of criminology and a founding father the Durkheimian position (that suicide, one
of social psychology, who was elected in of the most individualistic choices, resulted
1900 as a professor of Modern Philosophy at from implicit collective laws) was established
Collège de France. His intellectual produc- as the central principle of sociology. Also,
tion was not based on empirical research but Tarde remained politically and institutionally
on philosophical essays presenting a highly isolated and was unable to create a struc-
creative series of concepts which anticipated tured group of disciples, whereas Durkheim
a macro-sociology of micro-behavior. The developed ties inside the academic world and
modernity of Tarde’s ideas is impressive exerted institutional control, with long-term
and his central book on theory of imitation results. Also, Tarde was a ‘Grand bourgeois’
‘Les Lois de l’Imitation. Etude Sociologique’ with balanced but conservative ideas, while
(Laws of imitation, a study in sociology) Durkheim benefited from his courageous pro-
(Tarde, 1890) anticipates major American Dreyfus engagement that cemented for him a
sociological productions on social interac- strong political identity inside the modern
tion (Ellwood, 1901; Rogers, 1962). Tarde’s humanist left-wing intellectual world.
typology of social linkages (imitation, oppo-
sition and adaptation) remain invaluable con-
cepts for understanding patterns of social
change. A major contemporary French socio- IN THE 1970S TO 1980S, THE
logical perspective, the Théorie de l’acteur- INDIVIDUAL STRIKES BACK
réseau (Actor-Network Theory, [ANT])
is based on Tarde’s work (Latour, 2006). In spite of the success enjoyed by the repub-
However, his intellectual work remained lished book written by Tarde titled, ‘Lois de
marginal against Durkheimian collectivist l’imitation’, no school of sociology emerged
and holistic positions, supported through from this Tardian social-interactionist pro-
institutionalized networks and legitimized gram, at least not before Latour (2006). For
through his journal, L’Annee Sociologique. the first eight decades of the twentieth century,
Three main factors might be mentioned for the project of individual or micro-societal
Tarde’s failure (Mucchielli, 2000): the lack based explanation in sociology remained
of empirical facts to bolster theory, little marginal to French sociology. The main
9781847874023-Chap05.indd 4 7/5/09 18:03:43SOCIOLOGY IN THE SPIRAL OF HOLISM AND INDIVIDUALISM 5
reason may not only lie in the success of the the old holistic paradigms was proposed by a
Durkheimian project; the French Marxist former member of the Pierre Bourdieu team,
schools amplified this trend and later authors, Luc Boltanski (1982); Boltanski et al., 1984),
such as Pierre Bourdieu (1979) shared this who criticized the Bourdieusian positivist pre-
holistic perspective through the intellectual tensions of ‘dévoilement’ (unveiling) of social
tools of ‘structuromarxism’. Bourdieu’s domination. He advocated a ‘sociology of
notion of habitus, accommodates individual the critique’ to understand the actors’ subjec-
action with structure and remains an holistic tive struggle for recognition. Far from the
apparatus, as it is based on the objective English-speaking ‘structure / agency’ debate,
social macro-constraints that influence and the French post-1980s era was marked by new
modify individual’s positions. trends and visions on individuals and their role
The holistic model of explanation began in the production of subjectivity and in subject-
its involution in the early 1980s. Raymond based action.
Boudon, four years younger than Bourdieu,
remains a major figure in the debate: his
French adaptation of the rational action
theory, the ‘Individualisme méthodologique’
(Methodological Individualism) is a major step THE DEATH OF CLASS DEBATE
to a macro-sociology based on individualistic
explanations. Boudon’s (1973) first master- The contemporary study of individual/sub-
piece was an attempt to destabilize the theories ject-based visions of sociology relates to the
of social reproduction and immobility. The critic that developed against the theories of
Boudonian program is on the opposite side of social classes in the late 1970s and early 80s.7
Bourdieu’s theories of inheritance of cultural In North America this critic was formulated
capital and social privileges (Bourdieu and by Robert Nisbet in his theory of ‘decline and
Passeron, 1964, 1970). Boudons’s project of fall of social class’ (Nisbet, 1959). In France it
republishing Tarde’s seminal text and his emerged after the political victory of François
almost Tarde-like micro-based macro-sociology Mitterrand and the Parti Socialiste at the
remains an important tool to undermine macro- Presidential elections and incorporated schol-
social reproduction theories and holistic expla- ars from the new-left and of the right wing.
nations in general. His perspective of micro Whereas Raymond Aron (1969) or Touraine
actions relates to a key concept called ‘good (1969) could be seen as early figures of this
reasons’. These reasons are those which actors anti-class criticism, a group of authors such
give when acting the way they do. Social as Mendras (1988), Dubet and Martuccelli
reproduction is not the result of causal macro- (1998) developed a critical analysis of the
structures, but a consequence of aggregated former holistic Marxist paradigm. Like Nisbet
micro-choices of purely rational or at least par- (1959), most of these authors argue that there
tially reasonable individuals. Following a simi- are three dimensions of ‘declassicization’ of
lar path, Crozier and Friedberg (1977) gave new post-industrial societies.
foundations to the French sociology of organi-
zation with the development of a strategic 1. Economic progress moderates the intensity of
actor theory. These debates anticipated Alain economic constraints and fosters individual’s
choice.
Touraine’s treatise titled, ‘Retour de l’acteur’
2. The shift from industry to services destabilizes
(Return of the Actor, 1984), where subjectivity, the traditional capitalist conflict of the industrial
‘subject’ (Touraine prefers this word to ‘actor’ society.
or ‘individual’), individual representations, 3. In the political sphere, the diffusion of access to
micro-interactions are thought of as new socio- political power blurs the old frontiers in politics
logical tools to supplant the former Durkheim and develops new sources of conflicts (environ-
and Marxist6 paradigms. A reassessment of ment, cultural recognition and others).
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The French debate adds new aspects, such holism and individualism began to shift
as the expansion of the educational system; again – the conflict between the two poles of
increasing rates of heterogamy (though indi- social explanations intensified as sociologists
viduals are located in different classes, the perceived increasing complications in the
boundaries between them become blurred as empirical reality. The contemporary debates
they become a couple); mass consumption are about to create a new unexpected theo-
and ‘democratization’ of upper-class identi- retical hybrid.
fied goods; development of post-materialist Three moments of reflection defined this
political identities such as ethnic, gender, dynamic. The first moment discussed the
generation, and struggles for recognition of conflicts between class issues and individual-
differences.8 These elements explain how ism in French sociology. The second debated
the old holistic class struggles based on con- the emerging complementarities between the
flict, concerning work and the distribution two poles, that of individualism and holism.
of ‘surplus value’ declined with the growth Today is the third moment, where there is
of the affluent society, mass consumption, tension between the two spirals because
expanding degrees of freedom of choice, and individualism is assessed in the context of
cognitive ability to participate in symbolic growing inequalities.
struggles for identity recognition. All these
debates are not specifically French, but the
diffusion of these postmodern themes after
decades of structuro-marxism was present in CLASS OR INDIVIDUALS: INTENSITY
an extreme form in France. AND LIMITS OF A THEORETICAL
In this context, the debate on the significance OPPOSITION
of the ‘sociology of the individual’ (Sociologie
de l’individu) versus the sociology of social A major opposition in French sociology
classes emerges in a newer way in France than appears between those who support class
in other advanced countries. First, this micro- analysis and their adversaries. Aspects of this
sociology is theorized as a reaction against a opposition relate to the antagonism between
set of ideas regarding social determinism in holist and individualist traditions. In the
the form of belief in macro-structures, macro- 1980s, the debate was between Bourdieusian
actors and social classes. The latter had led and/or traditional leftist sociologists, his-
many to accept that individuals are passive torically and emotionally involved in the
and impotent objects of collective changes. notion of social class, and critics of the post-
Second, the French substantive ‘l’individu’ industrial social systems who analyzed the
cannot translate accurately into the English growth of actors and individuals, mainly
equivalent, ‘the individual’. The French con- from the new middle-classes —as autono-
notation elaborates the role, importance, cen- mous from collective determinations. Since
trality, freedom, creativity, of individuals: the early 1980s, sociology of the middle
their quest for self expression, subjective classes (Mendras, 1989) produced new
identity, and self-determination. It also offers arguments against the traditional sociology
an explanation of the transformation of soci- of classes. The importance of ‘new’ social
eties at the micro-social level of families, cleavages (gender, generational and regional
workplaces, networks, institutions or social inequalities), the increasing fragmentation
groups. In the French debate, ‘emancipation’ of social identities (with immigration and
and ‘autonomization of the individual’ are ethnicity issues), the decline of hierarchies
major concepts, which express the struggle for based on work and the rise of leisure and of
freedom against constraints of collectivities. symbolic differences, are factors that blurred
The popularity of this trend reached its the intensity and the visibility of traditional
peak in the late 1990s. The spiral between economic inequalities. As a consequence of
9781847874023-Chap05.indd 6 7/5/09 18:03:44SOCIOLOGY IN THE SPIRAL OF HOLISM AND INDIVIDUALISM 7
the heterogeneization of society, difficulties of identity construction and the destabiliza-
arose in analyzing classes and social mobil- tion and dissolution of identities of individu-
ity. Some of these arguments were simple als. All these contributions, together with
imports of Ulrich Beck’s (1992[1986]) others, questioned the capacity of traditional
influential ideas, linked to an international tools of sociology, notably that of social class
Zeitgeist, (spirit of the age) wherein the role to give meaning and sense to individuals’
of individual trajectories, choices and actions real capacity and capabilities to control their
became central issues in the explanation of own lives. For example, Danilo Martuccelli
a fragmenting world. This analysis heralded (2002: 24) argues that ‘hierarchy, status,
a shift in sociology from an analysis of col- systems of orders, positions, interests (i.e.
lective to individual explanations: ‘Now, in the actors’ execution of the economic logic
socio-historical analyses, understanding the of the system), in short the actors’ ‘pure
individuals’ trajectory is more efficient than functionality’ is no longer sufficient to define
understanding the sociology of their social individuals’ actions’. Against the traditional
groups’ (Rosanvallon, 1995: 200). This issue determinist macro-sociology, Martuccelli
was discussed in the round tables of the argues that class determinations are under-
first Congress of the French Sociological mined by the increasing role of subjectivity
Association in 2004 ‘De la sociologie à in social life, but against RAT he criticizes
l’individuologie’ (From sociology to indi- also a vision of actors determined by simple
vidology). The meaning of this neologism interests.
remained unclear, but it became the symbol However, the French macro-sociology of
of a shift of sociology from a science of classes develops new arguments. After 2002,
‘socius’ to a discourse on ‘individualis’. political changes such as Lionel Jospin’s
The arguments of the authors who par- failure at the presidential elections led some
ticipated in this debate are subtle and would scholars, who were categorized ‘neo-mate-
need detailed exegesis. However, it is clear rialist’ or ‘neo-modern’, to trace the path
that they argue for a reassessment of the role towards holism and the resurgent process
of individual subjectivity in social life. For of class formation in French society. Books
instance, François Dubet (1994) ‘Sociologie by Jean-Noël Chopart and Claude Martin
de l’expérience’ (Sociology of experience) (2004), Paul Bouffartigue (2005) or Roland
focused on the individual quest for (self) Pfefferkorn (2007) have reconfigured class
respect and recognition in social movements. analyses made in the 1970s and have pre-
Bernard Lahire’s (1998, 2002, 2004) theory sented through new investigations pro-
of pluralistic determination, and inter/intra found changes in the stratification system in
variation in social behavior offered a new France. These studies respond to a paradox:
vision of the limits to Bourdieusian schemes the disappearance of class as a subjective
of determination on individuals. François expression of identity and its persistence in
Dubet and Danilo Martuccelli (1998) ques- objective material terms (Chauvel, 2001).
tioned the interests of class for the analysis of This paradox, it was argued, had become a
contemporary social life and argued that the major source of social suffering for the poor.
construction of self remains a major issue. Whereas there is a rapid decline of subjective
François de Singly (1998) proposed a vision class identity and solidarity (class values,
where the social bonds are based less on class politics, class culture, etc.) in the sym-
the community of macro-group identities bolic sphere, the real world of economics
and more on a process of interpersonal shows new social facts: stronger inequalities
recognition of subjective choices of self- and hierarchies, stagnation of wages, welfare
determined individuals who remain libres state retrenchments, declining faith in the
ensemble (free together). Claude Dubar future by the working class, and a simultane-
(2001) analyzed socialization as the process ous boom in the housing markets, the growth
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of economic assets and wealth, and increas- These tensions in French society underline
ing capital accumulation. Ironically, in this a neo-modern class revival which develops
context, the haute bourgeoisie has emerged nostalgic resistances against the postmodern
as a real social class, by itself and for itself, trend of individualism. The popular demands
and has mobilized its members in projects of for social and state protection, re-institutional-
reproduction and collective action; the mem- ized status, and long-term collective projects
bers of this class do not act as individuals, but are a response to neoliberal economics, and
as agents of the collective interests of their could also be seen as a backlash against the
class (Pinçon and Pinçon-Charlot, 2000). process of individuals’ autonomization. On
These new class-oriented theories critic the one hand, dimensions of the neoclassicist
individualization, which they argue legiti- stream are sometimes criticized as reaction-
mizes the accelerated dissolution of the mou- ary ideologies, which deny the positive role
vement ouvrier (the working class movement) of individualism in contemporary societies;
and de-stabilizes the social institutions of the while on the other hand, some progressive
twentieth-century welfare state. This allows neoclassicist visions ask for an egalitarian
for the creation of new boundaries between the policy of individual emancipation for all,
‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’. Though this analysis which can constitute a new mobilizing claim
is sometimes criticized as being regressive against the domination of an upper-class
and conservative, it underlines the para- vision of individualism (Corcuff, 2005).
dox of social change, where some elements
of postmodern globalization share common
traits with the nineteenth century capital-
ism (Piketty, 2001). The tensions between DIVERSITIES IN INDIVIDUALISMS
individual subjective aspiration to affluence AND THE CLASS DEBATE
and the objective social reality (hierarchy
and new forms of scarcity) produce various Robert Castel’s (1995, 2003) books on wel-
individual anomic consequences, such as fare states and work protection developed
the high rates of suicide in 1990s France. central arguments to understand the hybrid
The aggregation of difficulties and stresses mix between individualism and class analy-
faced by individuals (extreme competition, sis. He suggests that individuals need sup-
compulsion of performance, accumulation port in their struggle for identity and self
of distress) impacts negatively on the social construction. Castel points out that during
structure (Gaulejac, 1987). The danger here the nineteenth century, property – because of
is exacerbated tensions between a class of the autonomy and protection it offered – gave
highly educated professionals, sharing liberal support for the construction of positive indi-
visions of open society and humanist indi- vidualism for the bourgeois middle class.
vidualism on the one hand, and a diversified Emancipation or positive individuation of
stratum of destabilized or frustrated workers, the working class required the promotion of
asking for status protection and influenced by new forms of collective property and welfare
neoconservative or reactionary claims, on the state provisions. This movement culminated
other. These tensions can explain the various in the ‘société salariale’ (wage earner soci-
waves of violence in France, with the emer- ety) of the 1970s. Given the retrenchments
gence of ‘anti-subjects’ (Wieviorka, 2005), and downsizing of social and welfare state
who are perverse subjects in quest of recogni- institutions, the access to positive individu-
tion of their own subjectivity, in the negation alism (the Kantian responsible individual)
of other subjects: xenophobic, anti-Semitic. is becoming difficult. Castel underlines this
Ethnocentric identities movements are based paradox or double-bind: on the one hand, the
on the affirmation of ones own identity in the working class is facing stronger injunctions
destruction of others. to engage in market competition, to anticipate
9781847874023-Chap05.indd 8 7/5/09 18:03:44SOCIOLOGY IN THE SPIRAL OF HOLISM AND INDIVIDUALISM 9
risks, to become emancipated citizens, and to classes, the access to autonomy and self
behave more often as pure individual mem- assignment meant severe corrosion of the
bers, but on the other hand, the welfare state traditional local ties constructed during the
retrenchments imply less support for becom- industrialist period. For the working class,
ing positive individuals. The result is the autonomization gave new degrees of freedom
diffusion of negative forms of individualism but undermined former integrative ties. In
engaged in irresponsible participation with traditional industrial society, popular educa-
short-term post-humanistic implications. tion institutions, trade-unions, social welfare
To better understand this differentiation, services, local political actors and strong
we can go back to the traditional Durkheimian organizations of the working units, offered
axes of Integration (capacity to engage in integrative support. In contrast, nowadays,
harmonious relations, solidarity, feeling of the family becomes the one source of inte-
belonging with the social environment) and gration, and its increasing instability could
of Regulation (external social assignment to provoke major ruptures in social trajectories
rules, places, positions, behaviors) as shown of working-class individuals.
in Figure 5.1. In the 1960s, industrial soci- There is a need to assess how different
ety, both middle and working classes were social classes face diverse types of individu-
regulated by external rules regarding what alization. Castel proposes different visions of
constituted normal behavior. Varied institu- individualism which could be represented in
tions, such as the communist party for work- new axes (in Figure 5.2): the vertical factor
ers, church and state for the middle classes, relates to the hierarchical position of inde-
promoted social identity and social roots, pendence and dependence. On the horizon-
through involving authoritarian and oppres- tal one is the Durkheimian (1898) position
sive aspects. Subsequently, similar trends of ‘Individu moral’, (left) moving towards
of individualism have had divergent conse- ‘Egoïsme utilitaire’ (right) of the hyper-
quences on the various social classes. Figure competitive individual based on the motto
5.1 shows how for the middle classes, the of Plautus and of Hobbes ‘homo homini
shift from heteronomy to autonomy offered lupus’ (man is a wolf to man). This classifi-
social support and integration (with the cation allows Castel to create the opposition
extension of social capital and social rela- between the ‘individu par excès’ (individ-
tionships). Quite the contrary for the working ual driven by excess: the ultracompetitive
Strong Integration Middle class
(social capital +) 2008
Network
Hierarchical
integration
integration Associationism
Middle class Local political participation
1960 Pressure groups
Working class
1960
Strong Regulation Weak Regulation
(Heteronomy) (Autonomy)
Decline of trade-unions
End of large
production units Anomy/
Totalitarian
Lonely Crowd
regulation(?)
Working class
2008
Weak Integration
(social capital –)
Figure 5.1 The Durkheimian scheme of the widening class gap
9781847874023-Chap05.indd 9 7/5/09 18:03:4410 THE ISA HANDBOOK OF DIVERSE SOCIOLOGICAL TRADITIONS
hyper-performing individual, narcissistic and trend of individualization and of individuals’
centered on his own ego) and the ‘individu biography in contemporary societies
par défaut’ (individual by default: who shares (Bertaux, 1981), the sociology of individual-
the same values and ideology than the former ism has had to acknowledge the economic,
one, but who objectively fails in the competi- cultural and social processes that structure
tion). Both types are negative outcomes of individualization. Contributions by Aubert,
an uncontrolled egoistic individualism. The 2004; Caradec and Martuccelli, 2005; as
‘individu par défaut’ implies that in ultra- also de Singly’s (2003) synthesis; Corcuff’s
competitive societies, we have to face many (2005) Neo-Marxist appraisal of individu-
failures and cope with their consequences. alism; and Corcuff et al.’s (2005) work
Ehrenberg (1995, 1998) calls the latter, the on the mobilization of individual issues,
‘fatigue d’être soi’ (‘tiredness of being one- pose the new sociological challenge for
self’). It represents the systemic risk wherein left-wing politics. Also, there is a possibil-
societies have to manage mass failure due ity of growing tension and potential future
to market competition, with individuals discord between these two schools (see
facing collective depressions, lack of moti- Figure 5.3) as a result of the opposite trajec-
vation, frustration, and declining trust. To tory of authors such as Michel Maffesoli
avoid the problems resulting from hyper- (Maffesoli, 1988, 2004) who present a
individualism, Castel suggests collective post-rational and post-individual ‘sociology
consciousness regarding the limits of atom- of tribes’ (where a strong holistic fusion
istic individualism and a return to collective in the tribe results in a kind of collective
regulations. Dionysian trance). If most sociologists con-
sider the methodology of Maffesoli’s school
inaccurate and controversial, a relevant
question remains: if there is no exit in the
NEW CONVERGENCES AND debate between egoist and Kantian individu-
DIVERGENCES IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF alism, if there is no possible choice between
INDIVIDUALS harsh competition and moral entrepreneur-
ship of social individualism, the risk is a back-
During recent years, this debate has pro- lash. This situation could lead to antisocial
voked new convergences or hybridizations of anti-individualistic reactions, of which
the individualistic and holistic poles. While free rave parties, cults, or whatever extreme
the sociology of class cannot ignore the experiences, could generate abdication of
Independent
individual
individual ‘by excess’
Modern successful autocentred and
Individual narcissic
“Individu moral” Utilitarian egoist
Individual ‘by default’
Modern person
dependent and in need
durkheimian style
challenged by failure and frustration
Dependent person
Figure 5.2 Four kinds of individualisms
9781847874023-Chap05.indd 10 7/5/09 18:03:45SOCIOLOGY IN THE SPIRAL OF HOLISM AND INDIVIDUALISM 11
Classes are central Lahire Individual is central
Castel
Corcuff Bertaux Singly
Baudelot
Bouffartigue
Ehrenberg Martuccelli
Lojkine Dubet
Kaufmann
Maffesoli
Individualism is Classes are insignificant
insignificant
Figure 5.3 Dimensions of the class/individualism debate in contemporary France
rationality, paroxysmal negation of person- déclassement (downward social mobility) of
ality and the desire to unite with a whole, the young generation. The autumn 2005 riots
within strong musical, emotional, religious in the French ethnic suburbs were a protest
(etc.) communities. against the contemporary interventions and
Evidently, France is not the only country a testament to the lack of faith in the future
where these questions are raised, but we for the youth belonging to the popular class
have here a typical example of sociological (‘classe populaire’ is the new name of the
hybridization of old questions which con- ‘classe ouvrière’, working class, because the
stitute our discipline. The French case is French ‘ouvrier’, worker, generally excludes
typical, since contemporary France is facing the service sector). The 2007 presidential
strong tensions and contradictions between campaign revealed the lack of capacity of
its model of human and social develop- the left-wing middle class to attain major-
ment inherited from the ‘Trente Glorieuses’ ity. These social fractures bring to light
(the thirty years between 1945 and 1975 of the mutual incomprehension between the
economic boom and of complete renewal upper, middle, working and excluded classes
of French society under the control of the (Chauvel, 2006). The highly educated left-
central state (see Fourastié, 1979), that sup- wing establishment have little understanding
poses strong interclass solidarity and vertical and awareness of the fears of the fragile sec-
redistribution, against a new era where the tion of the society, who have no means of
highly educated middle class wishes to with- expression but to reject the system. Between
draw from that old scheme, and escape from the crystallization of old solidarities which
outdated solidarities and experience new hold no future and the closure of an upper
degrees of freedom. class proud of its hyper-competitiveness,
The destabilization of the lower middle French society is an example of an interest-
class was visible in the Référendum sur ing blind alley.
le Traité Constitutionnel of 29 May 2005 The spiral of individualism and holism
(referendum on the treaty establishing a in France creates new tensions, backlashes,
constitution for Europe), through which reversal of situations, collisions, and hybrid-
they withdrew their support to the European ization. The mainstream Anglo-Saxon indi-
Union, because they perceived it as an adver- vidualistic tradition has not been able to
sary of social sector and state development. comprehend the complexities that French
The spring 2006 protests against the ‘Contrat literature has elaborated. Together with non-
première embauche’ (first employment con- western sociologies in which the role of
tract, which proposed casual/contract jobs to individuals is balanced by cultural–historical
students leaving university) underlined the dynamics and holistic essential patterns, the
9781847874023-Chap05.indd 11 7/5/09 18:03:4512 THE ISA HANDBOOK OF DIVERSE SOCIOLOGICAL TRADITIONS
French spiral of holism and individualism structural-Marxism of the post-1968 period, refers
might propose new ways of producing global to the climax of the holistic-classicist sociology of
his epoch.
sociology. 8. It is clear that this debate is not specific to
French sociology, see Pakulski and Waters (1998).
NOTES
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1. I wish to acknowledge the helpful comments
and useful questions that I received from an anony-
mous referee, the patient and friendly support of Aron, R. (1969) Les désillusions du progrès,
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