Göran Therborn: Selected Summaries: SELECTED SUMMARIES

By MAURICIO ENRIQUE FAU

From this prestigious author, we have summarized the essentials of two works: "Class, State And Power And Science, Class And Society", in this case in chapter 3, "The Era Of Sociology: Between One Revolution And Another".

• Language: English
• Publisher: BOOKS AND SUMMARIES BY MAURICIO FAU
• Release date: Oct 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201968618

MAURICIO ENRIQUE FAU

Mauricio Enrique Fau nació en Buenos Aires en 1965. Se recibió de Licenciado en Ciencia Política en la Universidad de Buenos Aires. Cursó también Derecho en la UBA y Periodismo en la Universidad de Morón. Realizó estudios en FLACSO Argentina. Docente de la UBA y AUTOR DE MÁS DE 3.000 RESÚMENES de Psicología, Sociología, Ciencia Política, Antropología, Derecho, Historia, Epistemología, Lógica, Filosofía, Economía, Semiología, Educación y demás disciplinas de las Ciencias Sociales. Desde 2005 dirige La Bisagra Editorial, especializada en técnicas de estudio y materiales que facilitan la transición desde la escuela secundaria a la universidad. Por intermedio de La Bisagra publicó 38 libros. Participa en diversas ferias del libro, entre ellas la Feria Internacional del Libro de Buenos Aires y la FIL Guadalajara.

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Göran Therborn: Selected Summaries

SELECTED SUMMARIES

MAURICIO ENRIQUE FAU

Published by BOOKS AND SUMMARIES BY MAURICIO FAU, 2021.

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

GÖRAN THERBORN: SELECTED SUMMARIES

First edition. October 25, 2021.

Copyright © 2021 MAURICIO ENRIQUE FAU.

ISBN: 979-8201968618

Written by MAURICIO ENRIQUE FAU.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Therborn, Göran

Therborn, Goran

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Further Reading: Anthony Giddens: Selected Summaries

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About the Author

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Therborn, Göran

CLASS, STATUS AND POWER

A line of demarcation ...

In this text, which is part of his book How does the ruling class rule?, Therborn tries to construct an EXPLANATION ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL POWER OF THE DOMINANT CLASS AND THE EXERCISE OF POLITICAL POWER (STATE).

Therborn begins by affirming the existence of a more than abundant bibliography on these subjects. But he also claims that, in the last analysis, the main APPROACHES boil down to three:

 SUBJECTIVIST APPROACH. The main question this approach asks is WHO HAS THE POWER? The subjectivist approach is interested in finding out who actually governs in a country, what sector of the community? Therborn defines it as an approach that SEEKS TO LOCATE THE SUBJECT OF POWER. An important question that stems from this is how many have the power? Many or few? In the United States, since the 1950s there has been a frequent debate between theorists of pluralism and those of elitism. The former claim that there are many centers of power in society. The latter, on the contrary, that those in power are a small elite. What Therborn makes implicit is that, despite their differences, the positions of pluralists and elitists have the same logic. That same problem is contained within the ideology of POLITICAL LIBERALISM.

 ECONOMIC APPROACH. This type of approach asks HOW MUCH POWER? Therborn says that this point of view is related to the businessman, always interested in the quantitative aspects. This approach is typical of the paradigms of the MARGINALIST ECONOMY in which preferences, options, etc. are studied. In this case applied to the study of power.

 HISTORICAL MATERIALIST APPROACH. The Marxist approach is very different from the previous ones. NEVER INVESTIGATES BY FOLLOWING THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE SOCIAL ACTOR that is typical of both elitism, pluralism and marginalists. Marxism pays attention to the PROCESSES OF TRANSFORMATION AND REPRODUCTION. Therborn says that if historical materialism could be defined through one question it should be: WHAT IS THE CHARACTER OF POWER AND HOW IS IT EXERCISED? YOU HAVE TO DEFINE WHAT THE POWER IS AND NOT WHAT IS ITS AMOUNT OR ITS SUBJECT. This highlights the classic lines of Marxist research that, when asking about political power, always places it within a social formation. Therborn says that Marx did not write Capital to ask himself who are the rich and who are the poor or what is wealth but that he sought to grasp the ECONOMIC LAW OF CAPITALIST SOCIETY. What Marx sought to understand was neither property nor owners but the SPECIFICITY OF CAPITALIST PRODUCTION RELATIONSHIPS.

Once the terrain of the discussion has been established, Therborn argues that Marxism studies the STATE by considering it as the