is essential for electoral success. On one hand, voters are likely to look to their political leaders to back benefits such as retirement income (in the form of Social Security, for instance), housing supports (affordable housing for low-income families or mortgage tax breaks for wealthier ones), and environmental protection. On the other hand, such programs are costly to implement and entail economic costs to corporations, developers, and other members of the elite. Some theorists argue that modern governments thus are caught in a conflict between their need to realize the interests of the capitalist class and their desire to win the support and loyalty of other classes (Held, 1989; Offe, 1984; Wolfe, 1977). Jürgen Habermas (1976), a contemporary theorist with a conflict orientation, argues that modern countries have integrated their economic and political systems, reducing the likelihood of economic crisis while increasing the chances of a political crisis. He terms this the legitimation crisis. Governments have intervened in the market and, to some degree, solved the most acute contradictions of capitalism—including extreme income inequalities and tumultuous economic cycles—that Marx argued could be addressed only in a proletarian revolution. Governments often act to keep inflation and deflation in
Leaders in modern democratic capitalist societies such as the United States are caught between potentially contradictory demands. They seek widespread popular support, yet they must satisfy the demands of the elites whose financial backing is essential for electoral success. On one hand, voters are likely to look to their political leaders to back benefits such as retirement income (in the form of Social Security, for instance), housing supports (affordable housing for low-income families or mortgage tax breaks for wealthier ones), and environmental protection. On the other hand, such programs are costly to implement and entail economic costs to corporations, developers, and other members of the elite. Some theorists argue that modern governments thus are caught in a conflict between their need to realize the interests of the capitalist class and their desire to win the support and loyalty of other classes (Held, 1989; Offe, 1984; Wolfe, 1977).
Jürgen Habermas (1976), a contemporary theorist with a conflict orientation, argues that modern countries have integrated their economic and political systems, reducing the likelihood of economic crisis while increasing the chances of a political crisis. He terms this the legitimation crisis. Governments have intervened in the market and, to some degree, solved the most acute contradictions of capitalism—including extreme income inequalities and tumultuous economic cycles—that Marx argued could be addressed only in a proletarian revolution. Governments often act to keep inflation and deflation in check, to regulate interest rates, and to provide social assistance to those who have lost jobs. Thus, economics is politicized, and the citizenry may come to expect that economic troubles will be solved through state structures and social welfare.
To understand Habermas's argument more fully, imagine a postindustrial U.S. city. The loss of jobs and industries manifests itself as a crisis—thousands of jobs in auto and other manufacturing industries move abroad, local businesses suffer as the amount of disposable income held by local people plummets, and economic pain is acute. How, in modern society, does our hypothetical city (which has hundreds of authentic counterparts in the United States) respond? Does it erupt in revolutionary fervor, with displaced laborers calling for class struggle? Or do people look to their local, state, and federal governments to provide relief in the form of tax cuts or credits,
The citizenry of modern capitalism, says Habermas, does not widely question the legitimacy of capitalism. If there is a crisis, it is political, and it is solved with policies that may smooth capitalism's bumpy ride. In a sense, the state becomes the focus of discontent—in a democracy, political decision makers can be changed and a crisis averted. The economic system that brings many of these crises into being, however, remains in shadow, its legitimacy rarely questioned.
The reading above identifies Jürgen Habermas as a contemporary theorist with a conflict orientation. In a paragraph or two, explain why his argument reflects the conflict perspective.
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