Abstract

KOZLAREK, Oliver. Challenges for a Critical Social Theory. Toward a “Reconstructivist Post-colonial Critique”. Sociológica (Méx.) [online]. 2017, vol.32, n.92, pp.41-68. ISSN 2007-8358.

This article’s starting point is the supposition that an important change has taken place in the image of society presented by social theory after 1989. First, current social theories present an image of societies that, despite their internal dynamics, no longer expect important changes. Secondly, these theories consider our societies severely fragmented, and thirdly, that they are going through an accelerating process of de-institutionalization. The author discusses these trends in terms of their implications for critical social theories, questioning, above all, post-colonial criticism. He proposes distinguishing between two currents: post-colonial de-constructivist criticism and post-colonial re-constructivist criticism. He suggests that the latter could cull from Latin American thought projects for social, political, and cultural transformations committed to more fair societies where people would have greater autonomy.

Keywords : post-colonial theory; critical theory; dependence theories; experience; reconstruction.

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