The impasse of French critical sociology: Attempts at a materialist renewal

Many significant intellectual developments (Frankfurt School, Bourdieu) continue to be based on the assumption that workers, social actors, etc. unconsciously reproduce the social structures of capitalism whilst being alienated by them. They cannot contribute to their emancipation. To account for new forms of social resistance to domination we need an alternative approach. We consider Boltanski’s pragmatic sociology, most notably his conception of institutions, and Latour’s own pragmatic stance because they offer some potential solutions to the question of resistance. However while productive we found these two contributions to critical social theory also problematic. Boltanski continues to imagine emancipation primarily as a return to some ideal state. As to Latour he abandons the question of domination. In this paper we will outline our own position as a materialist critique of the established order. This will lead us to ponder on the political role of sociologists.