Is a Reconciliation between Pierre Bourdieu and Luc Boltanski Possible? Towards a Dialogue between Critical Sociology and the Pragmatic Sociology of Critique

Abstract

The study highlights the most important points of convergence and divergence between two French sociological projects, often regarded as diametrically opposed: the critical sociology of Pierre Bourdieu and pragmatic sociology of critique as formulated by Luc Boltanski. By using a systematic comparison, the author demonstrates that there is common ground on which to develop a new intellectual framework to better understand the complexity of social life. Therefore, this study concludes by formulating eight hypotheses regarding the possibility of cross-fertilizing Bourdieu’s critical sociology and Boltanski’s pragmatic sociology of critique.