Session 13: from liberal technocracy to social criticism
divided views about science and expert knowledge
view of science and the expertise develops as an important tension in american life and in sociological thought during the 1960s
some resons for faith in science and expert knowledge
manhatan project
defeat of polio and other childhood diseases
proliferation of technological improvements in everyday lives
first man on the moon
control of the buisness cycle in fiscal and monetary policy
growth of computing power and operational analyses
knowledge as a factor in economic production
economist robert solow found evidence that technological innovation was a very important factor in economic growth which is more important than capital accumilation or labor force growth
economist fritz machlup calculated that the knowledge economy accounted for some of the 30% GDP which was increasing over time
these analyses were consistant with changes in the occupational structure showing strong growth
theorists of knowledge based economy
Management Consultant peter drucker: beleived large corperations and goverment agencies will be directed by people with expert knowledge solving economic and social problems with logic, data, and systems analysis
Daniel Bell: beleived scientists would be the upper class, technicians the middle class and graduate students the working class
Clark ker’s multiversity
UC president created a book called the uses of the university which portrays a new kind of university that provides problem solving expertise to all major institutions in society.
he saw universities as the service stations of society
in 1962 the university of california had operating expenditures of nearly half a billion dollars a total employment of over 40,000 people more than IBM and in far greater variety of endevours
the challenge of the civil rights movement and the war in vietnam
expertise VS morality
science and rationality can be biased toward the priviledged and the suffering of the poor is very often ignored
moral commitments and political will must accomodate scientific expertise. only people who are active in the political arena can produce moral commitement and political will
martin luther king jr saw science as creating knowledge and power while religion produced wisdom and guidance
challenge of the war in vietnam: the limits of quantification
lyndon johnson put together a team of the most inteligent and accomplished people in the country
had access to computers data war planning operations and all the metrics of war
yet despite all these smart people managing the war there was still something missing ended up causing the US to lose the war thus making the american people to questions scientific and military expertise based on quantification.
weakness of expertise in vietnam
when the mathmatical equation for sanity underestimated the outliers and how far they were willing to go
Mcnamaras deputy seemed to symbolize the inhumane and insensitive quality of that era.
undouting, unreflective, putting the quantifying of deaths and killing into neat cold antiseptic statistics
What qualities were missing among the best and brightest
understanding of the will to fight and willingness to sacrifice
from social science to social critisism in the 1960s sociology
sociologies crisis of confidance in science
using colombia universities department as a case study it turns out that the main proponents of the scientific sociology and the main opponent of scientific sociology worked in the same department
in the 1950s and 60s
home to what appeared to be the most productive scientific work in sociology
Robert K merton:
provided theoretical frameworks that while Paul F Lazarsfeld provided the statistic and methodological expertise to explore mertons theoretical ideas
Referance groups
ones self assesment and behavioral orientations are a function of reference group comparisons
opinion leaders
the diffusion of innovations occurs in social networks and is mostly influenced by most centrally located people in these networks
social functions of conlfict
conflict with out-groups strengthen in-group bonds
strain theory of deviance
when people share goals of the larger society but lack the means to achieve them they either withdraw or innovate. criminals are not alienated they are deeply connected to the measures of achievement.
C. right Mills: the great dissenter
Mills was interested in social inequality and the exercise of power, which crafted books called New Men of power white collow and the Power of the Elite, and was particularly concerned with irresponsible uses of power. he beleived in the idea that expertise is a tool for irresponsible power
Instrumental Vs. Value rationality
one way at looking at the tension between those who prized expertise and those who were critical of it
instrumental rationality
Rationality focuses on the most efficient means to achieve specific ends and is important in economics, business, and technology, optimizing outcomes
Value Rationality
adheres to ethical norms and values regardless of outcomes
later in the 1950s and 60s there was a rise in critical schools of thought in sociology linked to the disruptions of the civil rights movement and Vietnam
William Kornhauser’s book, The Politics of Mass Society, mentions the dangers of democracy falling prey to pressures for organizational conformity
Ralf Dahrendorf’s class and class conflict in industrial society attempted to reform Marxism by looking at the authority structure rather than ownership of the means of production, and as the basis of class conflict
Broader currents of alienation from science
system breakdowns, including cultural currents of alienation on the left
The system is the problem
bob dylans masters fo war
Creedence Clearwater- Revival's Fortunate Son
Stanley Kubrick, Dr. Strangelove
Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Mike Nichols, the graduate
attacks on science and expertise from the right
traditional religion and morality are neccisary to avoid the amoral domination of technocratic experts