Critical Rationalism and Globalization
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Critical Rationalism and Globalization

Masoud Mohammadi Alamuti

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Critical Rationalism and Globalization

Masoud Mohammadi Alamuti

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About This Book

Critical Rationalism and Globalization addresses how the access to critical reason enables people to shape a new social order on a global scale.

This book demonstrates how the philosophy of critical rationalism contributes to the sociology of Globalization, through uncovering the role of critical reason in arriving at an agreement on common values and institutions on a global scale. It discusses how value consensus on the institutions of sovereignty and interā€“state law has prepared the ground for the rise of a global system of national societies after the end of World War II. Masoud Alamuti argues that uneven openness of national economies to global trade and investment should be comprehended in the framework of the postā€“war legal and political context. Using the concept of rationality as openness to criticism, the book proposes a normative theory of open global society in order to show that the existing value consensus on the cult of sovereignty suffers from the recognition of the possibility of rational dialogue among competing ways of the good life. Masoud Alamuti argues that once the people of the world, across national communities, open their fundamental ways of the good life to mutual criticism, they can create common global values necessary for the rise of a just social order on a global scale.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Globalization Studies, Global Sociology and International Relations.

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Publisher
Routledge
Year
2015
ISBN
9781317540205
1 Introduction
By the late 1970s the concept of globalization had begun to be used by the academic community, but without any particular focus. It was not until after the end of the Cold War, however, that the development of globalization studies in terms of how they relate to the world as a whole became central to the social sciences. Nevertheless, there have been few systematic attempts to analyze globalization on the basis of the theory of society.
The concept of globalization is used with a great variety of meanings, so it is not easy to trace the theoretical foundations of discussions relating to it. Nevertheless, the aim of this book is to show that competing concepts and theories of globalization have originated in the social theories which have been used to address the issues of global order and global change.
As observed by Richard Falk (1999), although the mainstream globalization debate claims that the most fundamental aspect of current globalization is the inescapable compression of time and space, which is linked closely to the emergence of information technologies, and has contributed to economic restructuring at the global level, it does not deny that this compression has also created a new set of social relations among all people (Scholte 2005). The global quality of such social relations is, nevertheless, considered to be the result of cumulative changes in peopleā€™s relations with each other. If, however, globalization has a distinctive social meaning beyond its time-space sense, as argued by Martin Shaw (2000), the theory of globalization cannot ignore the theory of society, of which the main task is to question what society is and how it changes.
This book plans to reexamine the need to use the theory of society in order to establish the globalization debate within a sociological framework and to show how competing concepts of globalization have originated in the theories of social order and social change. This book attempts to rethink globalization through the development of a new theory of society based on the philosophy of critical rationalism. Thus, the terms critical rationalism and globalization in the title of this book stress the contribution of this philosophy to the theory of globalization.
Frank Lechner (1991) has defined globalization as the process by which a new social order comes about on a global scale, bringing radically different communities into interaction with one another. With this concept of globalization as its reference point, this book identifies the problem of social order on a global scale on the basis of a sociological approach and shows how different theories of society have dealt with this problem. From this standpoint, the contribution of modern sociology to globalization studies is situated within the context of the answer provided by it for the Hobbesian problem of a peaceful social order on a global scale. Furthermore, this book aims to show that modern sociology requires a substantive transformation in order to provide a theory of society capable of addressing social change on a global scale.
From a sociological perspective, defining globalization as the emergence of social order on a global scale not only allows global order to be viewed as a societal arrangement which has increased the possibility of peaceful coexistence for distinct communities, but also suggests that the existing global order can be reorganized to make the world a more just and free place for all people. In this sense, the sociology of globalization finds a normative task in introducing mechanisms for social change from the existing global order to an ideal one.
This book aims to apply the philosophy of critical rationalism and the idea of an open society for the development of a critical sociology of global order which not only provides a sociological explanation for the rise of social order on a global scale, but also uses sociological logic to explore the possibility of transforming the existing global order into a just and free global society. The book introduces the idea of an open society as a sociological construct in order to demonstrate that people across national societies who open their fundamental beliefs to mutual criticism are capable of shaping the common values necessary for the rise of an open society on a global scale.
Against this background, the central argument in this book is that a new theory of society for the sociology of globalization can be developed on the basis of critical rationalism and the concept of an open society. Thus, a systematic attempt is made to transform the idea of open society into a sociological theory of open society upon which an open global society is viewed as an alternative global order. Furthermore, the rise of the existing world order is analyzed as a result of opening values and institutions to rational criticism.
William Warren Bartleyā€™s theory of rationality (1964, 1984) is used to introduce a new theory of human action upon which the sociology of open global society in this book rests. The concept of openness to criticism, which is inspired by Bartleyā€™s theory of rationality, lies at the heart of this book and is used to internalize critical rationalism in the sociology of globalization and to develop the sociology of open global society.
Although Bartley did not apply the concept of openness to criticism for formulating a sociological theory of open society, this book argues that such a concept of rationality provides the theory of society with a new micro-foundation enabling it to serve the sociology of globalization. Viewed from this perspective, this book should be regarded as a sociological critique of Karl Popperā€™s theory of open society, parallel to a philosophical critique of Popperā€™s concept of rationality, which is presented by Bartleyā€™s theory of rationality. Initially, it might seem strange that a concept of rationality as openness to criticism is capable of changing our understanding of globalization. However, the reader who follows the sequence of the arguments in this book will realize that the theory of rationality contributes to the sociology of globalization to the same extent that it affects the theory of society.
Bartley defines rationality as openness to criticism in the following way: a belief is a rational belief only if it has been opened to rational criticism and is not known to be a false belief. Logically speaking, Bartley shows that a rationalist does not need irrational faith in reason and is capable of defending his or her rational identity by argument since there is no limit on opening all of our beliefs to criticism. The book uses this concept of rationality to show that an open society is a rational one because its moral foundation and institutional structure are open to criticism.
In contrast to Bartley, Popper (1945) claims that faith in reason is an irrational faith. Popper defines critical rationalism as a moral attitude of treating critical argument seriously, claiming that one cannot defend all of his or her beliefs through argument. Hence, Popper justifies critical rationalism through an irrational faith in reason which cannot be defended by argument. This book argues that Popperā€™s irrational faith in reason has prevented him from developing a theory of rational action upon which access to critical reason enables human actors to revise their shared values and common institutions, and to effect the transformation from a closed to an open society. It is in this sense that this book turns Bartleyā€™s critique of Popperā€™s concept of rationality into a new basis for the sociological theory of open global society.
The concept of openness to criticism is used to show that rational dialogue among competing ways of the good life is conceivable and results in a set of global shared values that are necessary for a peaceful global order. This book argues that people living in different societies throughout the world who keep their fundamental beliefs regarding the universe, the good life, justice, legitimacy, and efficiency closed to mutual criticism actually live in incommensurable communities without any set of common values and institutions, and who are involved in the Hobbesian state of war of all against all. The idea of open global society, however, aims to provide a normative solution to the Hobbesian state of war among national societies which are not prepared to open their fundamental beliefs to rational criticism. The concept of open global society implies that people who activate their access to critical reason are capable of entering into a moral dialogue to learn from each otherā€™s rational criticism and agree on a set of global values to control egoistic behavior and enable a peaceful social order on a global scale.
Taking the model of science as its paradigm, this book purports that, just as scientific knowledge grows through conjecture and refutation, human society also develops through social learning by trial and error and by opening common values and social institutions to rational criticism. From a sociological perspective, this means that the process of rationalization in human society takes place according to the model of science, i.e., through learning from errors.
Once people perceive their common values merely as tentative conjectures (Albert 2006) for a peaceful social order that controls their egoistic behavior, they can test the objectivity of normative conjectures by entering into inter-subjective refutation. The ideal type of open global society applies the model of science to show that, once people recognize their national values as conjectural solutions for the problem of social order, they will be prepared for an inter-societal debate aimed at defining a set of global values necessary for social life in the world as one single place. It is true that globalization has connected people across distinct communities; however, the social meaning of globalization must be sought in the establishment of a set of shared values and social institutions on a global scale. The sociology of open global society proposed in this book not only defines the social meaning of the current form of globalization according to the rise of global values and institutions, but also argues that a just and free global society will only emerge if all people living in national societies open their fundamental beliefs to mutual criticism in order to discover the moral basis for solving the Hobbesian war of all against all on a global level.
This book suggests that there is no substantive difference between a domestic and a global society in terms of how people should be organized within a just and free social order to meet their goals. In other words, if globalization refers to the rise of a social order on a global scale, the theory of globalization is faced with a problem similar to the one dealt with by a theory of domestic society in addressing the rise of social order on a national level. Hence, the legacies of modern sociology can be used to explore how social order has been globalized. At least one of the mainstreams of modern sociology implies that people can control egoistic behavior through an agreement on a system of common values. Global application of this thesis leads to recognition that a global society, like a domestic one, can overcome the problem of social order through a value consensus with institutional ramifications. This book shows that globalization has created a global system of national societies via a set of shared values and institutions through the openness of human actors to criticism.
The sociology of open global society which is developed in this book has been inspired by the model of science with the aim of showing that rationalization on a global scale is possible if all people open their fundamental beliefs to mutual criticism in order to discover moral truths whereby they can consider one another as equal moral beings whose social organization on a global scale does not lead to the war of all against all.
The above explanations enable the reader to understand how philosophy of critical rationalism is introduced into the sociology of globalization in this book. A sociological framework for this introduction is presented in the following four major steps:
ā€¢ The contribution of epistemology to the theory of society is shown. Whereas the theory of society analyzes the rise of social order, epistemology shows that social order rests on a value consensus attainable on the basis of peopleā€™s cognitive capacity to recognize a false belief by subjecting it to criticism.
ā€¢ The contribution of the theory of society to the sociology of globalization is shown. Since the rise of social order on a global scale originates in a set of shared norms among distinct societies, a theory of society is needed to show how such a normative consensus was achieved for the first time due to peopleā€™s cognitive capacity.
ā€¢ A new theory of human action which criticizes the oversocialized image of individuals and regards people as being capable of revising their fundamental beliefs and social institutions is introduced.
ā€¢ A new theory of society is introduced to show that the transition from a closed to an open society originates in peopleā€™s access to critical reason, which allows them to revise the dominate values and institutions from the perspective of people as independent actors.
The first step introduces critical rationalism to the sociology of globalization in Chapter 2. In order to develop a new theory of society, this chapter examines the connection between epistemology and sociology through the notion of common values. It is argued that the theory of society addresses the question of how social order is possible despite the fact that people pursue their own self-interests and that sociology offers the answer that it is due to the existence of a system of common values internalized in peopleā€™s moral identity which controls egoistic behavior. Furthermore, the argument continues that this conventional answer is supported by an epistemological theory which shows that people not only internalize the existing values in order to control egoistic behavior, but also revise existing values when their critical minds inform them that these values might be shaped on false premises and mistakenly serve to guide their lives.
The contribution of epistemology to the theory of society, which also affects the theory of global society, implies that it is peopleā€™s access to reason or their cognitive capacity for recognizing a false belief by opening it to criticism which allows them to agree on regulative norms in social life for managing egoistic behavior. If this argument is correct, openness to criticism can play the same role on a global scale as on a domestic level.
In Chapter 2 it is argued that justificational epistemology prevents the recognition of how people use the faculty of reason to agree on common values by assuming that individuals must justify their beliefs in order to identify their truth. From such a perspective, people regard their beliefs as justified, true, and non-revisable through rational debate, assuming that their first principles are absolutely true. In contrast to this perspective, Chapter 2 presents a nonjustificational epistemology, which defines rational people as those who open their first principles to criticism and act on the basis of beliefs which are not yet known to be false, thus contributing to the theory of society by showing that it is access to critical reason which allows people to enter into rational dialogue about common values.
In Chapter 2 the contribution of epistemology to the theory of society is addressed because epistemology is so fundamental for the development of the sociology of open global society. If people across distinct communities do not open their ultimate values to mutual criticism, the creation of a peaceful and just global order will prove to be impossible. The contribution of critical rationalism to the theory of global society should be examined in the context of the implications of nonjustificational epistemology for open dialogue among competing ways of the good life.
The second step in the sociological framework of this book is objectified in Chapter 3. As argued, a sociological analysis of globalization should be formulated on the basis of a theory of society. Acceptance that globalization is the process by which a new social order comes about on a global scale must also entail agreement that the meaning of globalization rests on the concept of social order. By the same token, recognition that it is a system of shared values that gives a social meaning to human life should entail acceptance that the social meaning of globalization rests upon a system of glob...

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