.

/
Collegefor CareerDevelopment De La SalleUniversity
BehavioralSciencesDepartment Mrs.CristitaR. Almonte-Mallari

SOCIOLOGYAND FREEDOM

.l?::,ii:,i:?:l;,
Sociology,greatly to the surpriseof ntost of its older practitioners,has acquiredthe
reputationof a liberating$iscipline.Sociologyceursesarecrowdedwith studentsin searchof the
intellectualtools with which to demolishthe hypocriticalworld of their elde.lsand fashionfor
thcmsclvcs, if not for sobictyat large,a neyrauthg.nticity and a nelv.frdi.dom.Even more
astonishingexpectations aredirectedtowardsociologyby studentswho adhereto the radicalleft.
For them, sociologyis nothing less than the theoreticalarm of revglulionarLpraxjs, that is a
liberatingdisciplinein the literal se.pse of a radicaltrans&rmationof the.social order. It is
sociologyin this latter understanding that hasbeenassociated withthe remarkableproportionof
studentsof the field who are amongleadingactivistsof the New Left, both in Americaand in
WesternEurope-to the point wheretherenow are firms in Germanyand in Francescreening
jgb applicantsin order to ba, thosewho have taken sociologycourses.Even in this country,
wheresociologyis established more firmly in academic,thereare placeswherethe field has
takenon a slightlydisreputable flavor. :
All this is very recentindeed.Only a few yearsagomost outsiders,if they thoughof a
sociologistat all, thoughof him as a dry character, with an insatiablelust for statisticswho at
best might dig up some da'tesgf use to policy makersand et worst (in the words of one
malevolentlcommentator)might spendten thousanddollars to discoverthe local houseof ill
repute.It would have'requireda wild imagrnationto conceiveof this unexciting tlpe as an object
of interesteither for youngiseekersqfter salvationor the FBI. It. h"?s,frapperred all the sarne.
Especiallyamong younger.members of the professionthere are now serieusaspirantsto
drasticallydifferentimagesof the sociologist.Thereis the image of the dociologistas one of
severalgunrtypeswithin the youthculture,in closeproximityto the evangelists of psychedelia,
T-groups mysticism, andotherfashionable gospels.Thereis alsothc imageof the sociologist as
a carrier of revolutionarydoctrineand, potentially at least, aS a charqpteq.throwing Mclotoi
cocktails through the windows,"of, the, faculty club (in. either direction, dependingon
circumstances). Both imageshaveprovokeddismayaswell as enthusiasm. The former imegeis
especiallygalling for psychologists,, wh_osuddenlyfind themselves.challenged in what so
a
recenttywas monopoly in the treatmentof the metapHysical afflictions'ofintellectuals. The
later.,image is a sourqeof alarm,,notonly'to univqrsityadministrators and'law,renforcemeht
officers,but to orthodoxMarxists,who describethe newradicalsociologists in'termsthatcould
havebebonowedfrom SpiroAgnew.
The greatestdismay,naturally,comesfrom sociologists. Placidsurveyorsof Parsonian
theory are suddenlyconfrontedwith demandsto be "rqlevant" to the turbulentand constantly
shifting commitmentsof the young. Graduatesof the Bureau of Applied Social Research,
collectorsand prodrrcersof multiple correlalionswith impeccablemargins of error, suddenly
hear themselvesdenouncedas academichirelingsof the military-industrialcomplex.Tliis
confrontationbetweenthe old andthe new sociology,a yawninggenerationgap if thereeverwas
one,couldbe fully observedat the 1969meetingsof the AmericanSociologicalAssociationin
SanFrancisco. Therewerethe variouscaucuses of.radicalleftists,blackmilitants,and(perhaps
most frighteningof ell) liberatedor wanting-to-beliberated'womensociologists,eachgroup
doingits thingin the antisepticcorridorsof the SanFranciscoHilton.Amid this novelfuror,the
majority,almostfurtively,went aboutits usualbusinessof interveningjob candidates, drinking
publishers' liquor.andreading papers in atrociousEnglish.
, SAgiology should be an instrume4t.f,or the exjstentiallibgratio.nof the indivi4\ral:it
shouldbe a weaponiLthg:evolUlioEar,v struegleto ljb_e{ate
society.To anyone.familiar with the
historyoi the discipline,thesenotionsarestartling,in not ironic. In the originsof sociology,
therer.l,ns
inclecd a cprasi-rcligious
conception of it tlrcconception of AugusteConrteandhis
followers.Comte,however,envisagedsociologyas an antirevolutionary doctrine,as the new
church,that was to restoreorder and progressin the wake of the havoc causedby the French
Revolution.With few exceptions, however,the Comtianview of sociologyas Heilswissen(to

Page1 of 11
 i ,' :.:.:' ': . :.: .,,.: :. ':
1 -.: - .. 1,.
Max Shefer's
term)did not srnrvive
jorg mr classicageoi ttt-r- discipline,theperiodroughly
,Je
1890and.l 930.Noneo.fthe,classic,sociologisti'wouldhave ieenlaqe to
'7letweel - make
* much
i- '- "'"1'
senseof thecurrentnotionof sociology
a{.avehicleof personalliberation,. . ' :,'-'
r,''Astounderstanding
soqi;r9e-ti;
g;;:J$tdqiilil6-#;;iir,'i, ij noteworthy
thatsomeof theSreatesJ
llasgicfiiures(su.nlilni*.wsber,Emile:ri-u*r,ri*, andvilfredo
Pareto)
invtisted
agooddeatofeffo-iin *harttreyrilideiiil;#ilffii;ir,oe u*ism.
classic
sociology
in Europ_e Most
w* a iqqler reyoputiolery,,andfr, ie,i;ihliiritrri'"?r*J;ril;
9t:F*'^Earlv
- to r{*tti93 sociolorgv reformlo!,1gmur,
fe4,.3.unong uuiiui*",ut,rorecongerdal,
YMCAsecretariesthanto revolutionaries
or.prpaphe,rs
olspiriti,.riiftti."n. Eventhismild
reformismbecame,atmost'asubniergedmotiias'3eIE'f''@d.ffi'.'@
became established asbindingnonnswi-thintheprofe;i;--- :-. .
I haveno satisfyingexplanatior,fel '
thi'recentdrarnaticchanges,in'the conception of
sociology, one canpoint' of Course. to certainintellectual soul6ss-ft; Wrigtt Mills in this
99qry' the so-calledFrankfurtSchooii1 Germany, andMarxists-turned-sociologists, suchas
HenriLefebvre, in France. This,though,doesnotexplain*nv irres.liaiviauurrandtheirideas
havesuddenlyaometo.exerrsucha powertulinfluence.I ;;";t ;;;;; ,h.r, as is oftenthe
casein the historyof ideas,lherg_is astrong element of chaneein rhe ..-, $...r
"ri-',*1,;.:,^::
$r J ,
Yy r w !/v r l
h, ;*'?*1t itxffiAto devotemyself hereto speculation
this : Tv
:l*l^*.t:.T,:n: lr *4,tv bjzanemarriage (nottheleastreason b."- ffi;T;l;
yT\: it will last long). Ratherthan to exptoiehistorical;;, i;irr, to took at the
theoretical question at issue,to wit: In wh I
dis.ciplin-q?

"Thc relationshipbetweenSociologyandFreedomis not as sirrple, or a cheerful,

astheradicalsin theprofessionwould haveusbelieve."

I shall approachthe questionby way of two seeminglycontradictory

propositions:(l)
, a1oli1
.t'ug g ; t t h ; -. 6 g 1 l, . p ro p o s it io n s a re c o rre c t , a n d t h a t
understanding this ur.o o*ntt *"t.tuato**o o"*""qro.,oto*u *o u"*o*,
on t h e . l e v e | o fp Ttt!
o l i ti cs.(Ish o u l d a d dher ethofr ,o*anempir ical ar leasr
sciencecanor cannotdealwith man's
Sociology'issubversive {e-qd9mis clearlyoutsiiethe's*p,lrtirrs paper).
cf established putt.r* oi ttrougl"lt.
ttris, orfourse, is todaya
^
favorite:notion of thosewho woulc marry sociologyto radical-politics, a f.* yearsagq most
sociologists wouldhavebeenshockedor honestly-bewildered by the proposition. Then,it.was
thosewith a vestedinterestin established pattemsof thoughtwho (if theinelegant similemaybe
forgiven)'smelled theratbeforethosewhoputit there.I rJcalla remarkmadeio *, in
1956by a
barberin thesouthemtown whereI had
lust startedmy first teachingjob. After I told him whatI
was teaching:-ht-paused(more pensivelythan hosiility) and reriarked,..oh,
I know aboui
sociologists' You're the guyswho wrote all thosefootnoiesin the Supreme
Court decisionon
fttilg the coloredinto the schools.".Hewas right, of course,in an extendedsense,if not
literally'I wonderhow manyof thesociologistr*tio blsily gathered
all thosedateo theplaceof
Negro in America (someof them are Southemers living quite comfortablyil . ;;jrC;;
:""".1:yl,:ig'::.1lYt IIy ^*:':. the legitiriations
for on, oi the greatsocial
::::ftrj:':.:^l ?::l T'rl1t, dirrergSttv,
^glovidins
I 1vss.i
tr''i
Everyhumansocietyhasassumptionr
tt ut, ngednor
ii.Tervsociety
there.are
putir'n,orT.;rn, thatmost
peopte
::l::j:1,f::.j::,,,iTl:19
accept without questionasbeing
of thevery'natlre'of
this. AlfredSchutz.urr.oiiil
ffi;iffi;
"the world'taken;for-granted,"
whictrirdvidesrtheparameterst"J-ti"-tr"jl'^,
Mtq*"
salle p-lerymenon
with their conqgpti
-o-o
r^- ^..r
,
!:
snowlnsm4t lt ls oqly one ot sgveral,possible viewq of society.That is alreadydangerous
enoughand would provide sufficient groundsfor sociologiststo becomewhat the Prussian
authoritiesusedto call polizeibekannt*of interestto the cognitiveif not to the actualpolice-
and, let me add, every society has its cognitivepolice.menwho administerthe 'bfficial"
dellnitions of reality,But sociology, at lestin certainsituations, is moredirectlysubversive. It
qnqrasks- vbpted. makes
inte.{ests.and visiblg the,Eanqe,r in whighihelalter are serve4by soclel
. At l.estin ce4ainsituations.thensociologygair,bepolitical tlvnamite.
A favoriteterm qf the New Left in Europeand Latin America is derivedfrom the
vocabularyof psychoanalysis--Bewusstmachung in German,conscientization in Spanish-
perhapsbesttranslatedas "hringinsto consci ," This iS thg processof soci4lcritique_by
rvhtch
ich the mystifications
mvstificati of "false consciousness" ishedand the wav is nreoaredfor the
are demolished
demystifi.e3 consciousfress nece-ssafy for reyolutionary, piaxis. I shall return shortly to the
questionof revolutionarypraxis. As to the first aspectof the term, the subversiveeffecls of
critic?lspcialpnalysison conscielrsnesq, it mustbe admittedthat it pertainsto sociologyin a
very'basicway.
will find himsr " At least
potentially,this makeshim unsafein the eyesof theguardians of law andorder.It alsoproduces
unsafely,sometimes with catastrophic effects,for his owhpeaceof mind.
"Bringingto consciousness," in this sense,doesindeedhavea liberatingquality.But the
freedomto whichit leads,quiteapartftom its possiblepoliticaleffects,canbe a ratherterrible
thing. lt is the freedomcf ecstasy,in the literal senseof ek-statis-$ggp!@
s recal S
aoart from routine comforts aqrdroutine security,Thus, if thpre is a relalionshipbetween
ip betwsenthat
:F - - ''- - '- '_ .- -

ecstasy and.thgogssibilityof despeptip{r.

Towardthe endof his life Max Weberwasaskedby a
friendto whomhe hadbeenexplaining the very pessimisticconclusions of his sociologital
analysis,
"But,if youthinkthisway,why do youcontinue doingsociology?" Weber'sreplyis
oneof themostchillingstatements
I knowin thehistory'ofryesternthough:"Because I wanito
know how muchI can stand."Alfred Seidel,a studentof Weber's*ho was also greatly
influencedby Freud,cameto anevenmorepessimistic
conclusion in hislittle bookapproptiutrty
entitledBewusstsein.
als Verhaengnisas Doom. Seidelconcludedthat :the co{nbincd'critical
.
cal
to life itsglf.Whateverothermotivestheremay havebeen,Seidel'ssuicide'u.:u
i*rttg r*n in
the 1920s,rvas:an existentialratification of this view of the "bringing to consiio"g,ess" of
sociology. :
.My purpose is not to suggestthatsociologists,
to be consistent shouldall comr4jtsuicide.
I have a 'somgWhatmore benig4' view ;of the existentialpossibilitiesof sociological
consciousness. Rather,I ryTt to point oul thattherelationship betweensociologyandfreedJmis
not assimple,or ascheerful,asthe radicalsin theprofessionwould haveus belGve,yes, thereis
a liberatingqualityto the disciplineof,sociology.Yes,.there are situations
wheresociological
understanding can be liberatingin a po[iticaland (at leasrin termsof my own values)moially

prcposition
putdiffcrently,
mpane
praxis. actually inhibits the latter in . most cFses.Put differently once rore, fomenie.s
of
revolutionhaveas goodreasonto be suspicious of sociologyaspolicemenhave.This point can
 lt"^Y^:l .!1!l@I[Iuuilv:@,gf
gontinui.ty'
andof triviality.Eachof thise fliesG thffir-"f someof the fondest
contemporary left. beliefsof the
After a Tecentlectureof mine on so.ciological
theory,a perceptivestudentremarkedto
was
ill^I:l,Y:lt::'i 11q-,1P" notarbltrar.vilinadvertent.
Behindit is theconviction
rhat
theadditionalconvictiori
lwhictrt.*"o-t
constitution
of man,thatii, thu,
"hang-uporder."

Most
r:.:li:ll:1'el*t,3, -theinpsllb
slotlps-and, cf course,,it is in this .sensethat
radicals.
controls,n:y:Jj': i socier!,; l,;;, i rbnor oio.,.qd ;,nrojrb
sA tgt Il at

::" I i,: l,::ll.:"13.* _o

ffill'l
and,further,there,gfg

storeforanyrevolutionary
praxisthatfrilsto g..$ ,hir;;il. in
fteimperativeof centinuW tl":ttt *ritrJ t", uut-notidentical
order.I suppose l: with, theimperative
of
that,finally,!|!
If onqhas
.If
ffi'#::,o:::,:3li:: !nilj*':t have
them),
one t

andtherearevery ftt
l
pur.nl
(thecurrent ..generation
crisis,,
llll,,fj*-lll-jr,"::r:y^,,,lf,o.nr..loves=one_s.
notwithstanding, I aminclined{o thinkthatthis,'too,';r:;;rril;'ir ii'ililill",lliifl,
constant),
v Y . . e !*r*/, one
yrl v will
w trt not
ttvt finallv want to disnnraop ewanrrrin- ir.n$ ^^-^ejr-.^r rr
llllp t
especially
notif onecomesto t,ou; E:- - !r .:r , vsvr l !9 w vl IL l - -

y askwhatwill become of
thembut from where
re they
rrreyuu*e'
c6me.un-rrq,rgn
Chi are our hoslaggg,!g
history.consequentry,
io be a
ffiffitr"lim::: jfl r11*:1lh1el";ffi
. Ada result,
pii,ilu,ion)
therea"elimitsnoi;yi;#.1
toh?ye
a
butto social
discontin'ity. d;
E;th*i'ortrfbrviot.nt.t,ffiffi
have children) fail
to recognizethis. Successfulrevolu'rionaries
disorder,
uluuiryio
,i,,i,1i",",* find orri ehn'r rha ri,.ir- ^l
,l'li;i,iiil::tl,J'r""'Jl","J;:i:J*:::,:,T:lJnli:iiT
havegained
control. Theexperien'es
oithesovieirrg,;; *riirir'i"rirfi;
of religionareinstructivein this regard. of thefamityand

"Thesociologisthasngf doctrineof redemption

to bringinfo thepoliticalarena.,, .

suspect,
logtid i_4so{nbbaiip faetsof thehuman
a
theiphysiologi
Perhaps cal foundationof this is the irr.A fo, ste.p
 institution4l'order.'o** '
o,,.-j1gtr^
,nre.,,,,rii,,o uttiufrEiffi ,
but choices of thougb!. "t$'indiyidual
"'
r,ijf,
:ffilY;,lil,lTlii{;l1illi,f,?"T;:1,*i$:f*iltir*1ry1?c,rrs
,l,?,-Tililiiib
,. Y:,:l'lii
,ffi
ttrcn
tut'"
ffi ffi ,,,"JiT:f":::ffi;,:::ff
llijjy,,_d;&i:t;#,;f
lt
#fJJT":y.3'["JllT
-
affecting
hislife,*ould,tf reiliz;;,-."^r,i,"ir-',;
sleeplessness']
Fortunalely,it is anthropologically "iril#r:"1';{ff.illr.",rrJ::ff;
unrrutiruute,
thoughthe endless,.discussion,,
that goeson in radicalgroupsgivesa certain
upp.o*i*uiion of the horror that its rearization
would signify' [It is one of the merciesof
humannaturethat finally, all participants
discussantsmustfall asleep.] and all
I havetried to explicatethe conservative
bent of sociologyby pointingto somebasic
imperativesof sociallife ihat shouldil$: ttresociologi.i
andhesitantto commithimselfto revolurion*y ,trpti.ui'or notionr-orviorentchange
pru*ii."i irritit ii.irr^i.rioncrusions
can be
revotution.
rranthis.add up-ro *r*l.'li Jffiil anarvsis,
l#J'iiX,,lllillllrlJ:::':]:T'l rorrheactuar processes
or
u,onrd*u;;;;C#,;,'?;tJi:ril'J:trilil::,:::Tlir,ij
co-nservatism
in questionis or u ptauiiar kind. It is
not a conservarism
hqcerrnn rr.o ^^-..i^r,^-
Ihe
Rather,it is
prograqrsfor new socialorders.[t is, if you
Wirfr,
tttr
l#,Tj$lll.o:j::::":::y:.rTni,tt ;]ff;:il'
f imist.Theseeming

is
ill,lfi
#gT:#:.#:n[,]::,:l*:::i,,,,*ly,t,F;:iJ',ffi
.J^This,
of course, exactly
the
.::ffiX,xl;[$
kindoi rnunwhom
ourrevolutionaries
will call a fit. So be it. tt i
Io-ung

.rJ ryuevt .r sarvruqy,tnougnt-qllough,"ooncgll

t
made acyrture herooui6F -c*-'ilil' , ihG:" rhefactthata generationthathas
prarse,:
etu"t ;#ffif [;:;Ji]i,'il: ;il.llffl:tf I ffi J:i
uresof ordinarymenon,un-or.nched
beaches.
:::^?:9::a111111s
sociorogv,
therefore,
is arliberatire
di;.i;ri..;; il ;ffiifi
canbeno There
potentiary,,!ssis!€y_!0ey-
-"y.
ffiSH:.lli:,lll_;,y:f;:,:lli::l$:T;.{ l:,:: sametime,howi*t,
pornts up I 1t !h: @lrgy

I'
to be value-freein principle, ceasesto bea and becomesnothing but ideoloqy
propaeanda,and a ion. The practitionerof the
ttreyg3l*-aliving truma .'rhe moment
l::n..f"?,
betrays his humanity and (in he
an operation ihut@ b, called ,.false
conscioumess"
^^-o^i^r.*o-.tt and
^-f
a3L^
"bad -t
.t1-irr-tl\
faith") r
science.Thesetwo statements about.uut
y^1tue-rrq1ooT.o.rthesociorosi't
i' ;tiil'i nut
$eperhaps
rvr'eve it
l1$ll-T}::1,:::il:!":lll1
appropriate
to conclude theseobservations
with a littlehomily. 'r is
ro
we mayreturnhereto the two imagesof thesociologist thatwereconjuredup earlier-
tlat of the sociologist as the antiseptically neutraltechnician andthatof the sociologist
fiercelycommittedpartisan.I think iirattttesociological as the
teft hasfe.;;;;t t#t, right,ethically
speaking,in its denunciationsof the former typi (even if it has
urln uiair in individual
instances)' In anagein whichnot only freedom uut trti verysuwivalof manis in jeopardy,there
is-something obsceneaboutthe scientistwho claimsthat he is not responsible for the usesto
which his scienceis put.'This is not to deny in any way the right
oi inaiuia*r, ," rJrii"
theoreticallife or to abstainfrom political engagemint.tttir .igh-t,ho*rurr,
can be exercised
moreacceptablybv Byza{inologiststhanby moit sociologists.Soriotogy
il;";;fi]t"ff;
the agonizingdilernnraloj our time to permit mostof its piactito"rtr t,r"i,;;*r
their theoretical
intgrestsin detachment the stuggles of their fellow-men. It is clear, beyond that, the
from
sociologist in the employ of politiially relevant organizationscannot disclaim political
respo-nsibility for his work-apoint that has-beenimpressidon us very forcefullyby the
debate
that followedthe revelationsaboutprojectCamelot.
Becauseof theseconsiderations, I empilasize my belief in the political partisanship of
sociologists'and concede thatat timesthispartisanship maybe quitefierce.For exanrple, whenit
comesto the Pentagon's v_ieyof Latin,:America, my own politicalreactionstend to .be of
considerablg ferociousness- lt is equally'imqgglt to stiegs;however,thatthe sociolo;is;h;sn;;
9opHnt of r9derynlion to bring inio tttt potitir.l arena.witut he hasto ron"iiute is the critical
intelligence,that is, or shouldbe, the foundationof his discipline.'ftr*, ;*il;;il;;ll;;
methodological mandate. Thereis pateinlsorne of them.His distinctiue contribution to politics
shouldbe his' consistent, unswervingapplicationof criticalintelligenc*a ,t. sratusguo,yes,
and to any challengerof the statusquo. Indeed,when u..roriiiogir,
movement(an option I have indicatedI would not normallypresclbrj, :"ii, ;;;i;;*i
hi, most important
political conhibutionto it will be his.ongoingcritique or
it.-Fut differently,my principal
objectionto most of my radicalizedcolleagues is not ihut ttt.y *, ,ngugrdin the businessof
"bringingto consciousness" but thattheyarJnot ooinj enoughof it.
To whom will sucha conceptiolof
99. sociologist'srole appeal?Evidentlynot to those
who simplywanta gareerin anykind of establishmeniand not to thosewho seethemselves as
Messiamicfigures,It is all to clear that both suchtypesare strongly
representedin American
sociologytoday.I have-found,however,andnot least-among my students,that thereareothers-
thosewho arestill willing to committhemselves mititantlyto reason.And reasonhasits own
seductiveness.