Growth Fetish

Clive Hamilton, Pluto Press, London, 262 pp., ISBN 0 7453 22514 (hb), 0 7543 2250 6 (pb) Hamilton has an ambitious agenda: not simply a critique of theenvironmental and other dangers that come with the myopic pursuitof growth above all else but a new agenda to mobilize what hesees as a politically moribund left. Hamilton takes effectiveaim at the vacuities of the Third Way and     

Rethinking Theory

‘Capitalist racist patriarchy’ is how Zillah Eisenstein (1998 Eisenstein, Z. R. 1998. Global Obscenities: Patriarchy, Capitalism, and the Lure of Cyberfantasy, New York: New York Press.  [Google Scholar]) characterizes global inequalities and the hierarchies of ‘difference’ they constitute. This article assumes that feminist theory aims not only to ‘empower women’ but to advance critical analyses of intersecting structural hierarchies; that this entails not only a critique of patriarchy but its complex conjunction with capitalism and racism; and that such critique requires rethinking theory. Through a critical lens on devalued (‘feminized’) informal work worldwide, the article explores how positivist, modernist and masculinist commitments variously operate in prevailing theories of informality – including those of feminists – with the effect of impeding both intersectional analyses and more adequate critiques of capitalist racist patriarchy.     

Post-Parsonian Theory

Sociological Forum -     

A Theory of Thinking: A Theory of Desiring

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on aspects of what is broadly known as countertransference in centering on the psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion’s explicit theory of thinking as constituting an implicit theory of desiring. I make a distinction between the discursive terms “thoughts,” “thinking,” “desires,” “desiring,” “wants,” and “craving” and tease out their relationship to one another for clinical practice. I explore how thinking and desiring operate in and around frustration and suggest that the thinking apparatus is not just a mechanism for dealing with thoughts but also is a way of transforming wants into desires. I separate out desires and the desiring apparatus, as Bion does with thoughts and thinking, and argue that thinking is inextricably linked to desiring and thoughts to desires. The interpretative act, moreover, constitutes the analyst’s acting on desire, whereas acts of projective identification are bound up with craving. I demonstrate the potential uses of this theory by discussing it with reference to two published clinical examples.     

Semen-Conservation Theory vs. Semen-Investment Theory,Antisexualism, and the Return of Freud's Seduction Theory

The semen-investment theory of the Sambia people of New Guinea is the antithesis of semen-conservation theory which his extremely ancient origins in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine and in the Biblical story of Onan. In 18th century medicine, semen wastage became a cornerstone of degeneracy theory. The signs of degeneracy were those of syphilis and gonorrhea combined. They were correctly attributed to the social vice of indiscriminate promiscuity, and incorrectly to the solitary vice of masturbation. The 19th century crescendo of antisexualism influenced phase one of the women's emancipation movement and dictated the renunciation of women's sexuality. In phase two of the movement in the 20th century, antisexualism dictated the repudiation of men's sexuality as exploitation of females. By 1895, Freud had formulated his seduction theory. In 1897, he supplanted it with psychoanalytic fantasy theory. The actuality of seduction, i.e., sexual child abuse, became discounted until the 1960s. In the 1970s seduction theory was revived and recycled as victimology theory, which, carried to extremes, replete with false accusations of satanism, has fed into a new surge of antisexualism, with adverse consequences for the advance of sexological science.     

Politics and Growth

Theories of growth have made progress in understanding the mechanisms of growth in economic terms. However, there is less understanding of the political processes that enable or obstruct these mechanisms. This article provides a four‐stage framework to clarify and analyse the connections between politics and growth: (i) discussing the basic conditions essential for growth; (ii) suggesting that whether or not these conditions emerge depends on specific forms of public‐private interaction; (iii) linking these relationships to the incentives facing those in political power and investors; and (iv) considering the factors at country level that may help to push incentives in a pro‐growth direction.     

Northern Theory: The Political Geography of General Social Theory

The relationship between geopolitical position and general social theory is examined by a detailed reading of three important texts, Coleman’s Foundations of Social Theory, Bourdieu’s Logic of Practice, and Giddens’s Constitution of Society. Effects of metropolitan position are traced in theoretical strategies, conceptions of time and history, models of agency, ideas of modernity, and other central features of their theorizing. Four textual moves are identified that together constitute the northernness of general social theory: claiming universality, reading from the center, gestures of exclusion, and grand erasure. Some alternative paths for theory, embodying different relations with the global South, are briefly indicated. Raewyn Connell is University Professor at the University of Sydney, and author, co-author, or editor of nineteen books, including Ruling Class Ruling Culture (1977), Making the Difference (1982), Gender and Power (1987), Schools and Social Justice (1992), Masculinities (1995), The Men and the Boys (2000), and Gender (2002). Connell is an Editor of Theory and Society. A contributor to research journals in sociology, education, political science, gender studies, and related fields, her current research concerns social theory, neo-liberalism, corporate masculinities, gender practices, and intellectual labor.     

Social Theory and Feminist Theory: The Need for Dialogue

Two developments in social theory, one somewhat older than the other, are raising a similar set of concerns. One, the older, is the critique of positivism as a model for social understanding, and in its most exemplary form provides the underpinnings for the trenchant criticism that has come out of the Frankfurt School. The second, the mole recent, comes out of Women's Studies and, like the critical theory of Jurgen Habermas and his predecessors, speaks to the need to understand human beings based on methods other than empiricism.
I should like to propose the joining in dialogue of the two, for while I see them as having much in common, I recognize a carefully considered set of arguments coming out of the Frankfurt School, arguments which could enhance the very understanding of the world of women that feminist scholarship has as its objective.
After explicating some key arguments out of Alfred Schutz, the paper indicates where the Frankfurt School parts ways with the phenomenological tradition. Of particular import is Habermas' "emancipatory interest." Certain recent writings in feminist theory are looked at for the kind of attack they make on scientism and for the rationale behind their call for a turn to the phenomenological or hermeneutic method. The paper then raises concerns about (1) the importance of understanding the historical debates on positivism; (2) the danger of conflating intuition and hermeneutics; and (3) the suggestions that women may occupy a privileged standpoint from which to interpret the social world.     

Fractal Organisation Theory

Abstract

Top-down hierarchies are typically characterised by command-and-control systems of authority that often create harmful stress and internal competition for advancement within organisations. The pervading perception is of ‘limited room at the top’, where positions of authority become scarce resources. Members withhold or hoard information by focusing competition energy internally rather than externally, creating silos of information and causing negative stress that is reflected in absenteeism and higher healthcare costs. Voluntary turnover drains talent as creative individuals tire of the politics and seek harmonious work environments. ‘Change management’ is an issue, as members’ natural compulsion to provide feedback and insights is quashed by management dictates. The triangular shapes of top-down hierarchies are non-random and limited, according to Benoit Mandelbrot, which may explain why many top-down organisations typically grow through acquisitions rather than by expanding from within. The fractal geometry of living systems in nature is both random and scalable, ensuring pattern integrity during evolutionary adaptations. Fractal organisation theory recognises an emergent human operating system that mimics nature in its capacity for creativity, adaptation, vitality, and innovation. The qualities of a fractal organisation include shared purpose and values that create pattern integrity; universal participation in ideas and solutions for continuous improvement; decision making at functional levels; leadership devoted to universal leadership; and competition energy directed outwards instead of inwards. Relationship development enables the effective flow of information between individuals and among teams. At all levels of a fractal organisation, members share information iteratively and make decisions collectively in response to constantly changing conditions.     

Social Movement Theory Today: Toward a Theory of Action?

Grand theories of social movements, relating them to History or Society, are being dismantled and reevaluated. In their place approaches are emerging that offer a cultural and emotional theory of action, allowing analysts to build from the micro-level to the macro-level in a more empirical way rather than deductively from the top down. Social movements are composed of individuals and their interactions. Rational-choice approaches recognize this, but their version of the calculating individual is too abstract to be realistic or helpful. Pragmatism, feminism, and related traditions are encouraging a rethinking of collective action.     

Evolutionary Theory and Neuroscience: An Explanatory Theory for Social Work

Evolutionary theory and neuroscience are recommended as a foundational theory for social work. Advantages of evolutionary theory include explanatory power, suggestion of interventions to beginning social work practitioners, and accommodation of more specific theories of human behavior. The explanatory power of neuroscience is also discussed, along with its evidence base and compatibility with the strengths perspective and destigmatization work of the profession. Connections between evolutionary theory, neuroscience, and social work values are also discussed.     

包容性增长：中国经济从量变向质变切换

“包容性增长”概念的提出,正当其时。包容性增长最基本的含义是公平合理地分享经济增长。中国经济、社会需要科学发展,需要“包容性增长”,就当下及未来一段时间而言,关键是如何将这一概念融入经济、社会发展的政策与实践中。倡导包容性增长须去经济增长的GDP化;践行包容性增长必须优先开发人力资本;强化包容性增长需要加快实现基本公共服务均等化;实现包容性增长需要着力推进城乡发展一体化;推进包容性增长需要深化收入分配制度改革;加快包容性增长需要始终追求社会公平正义。     

人才博弈论——屈与缺

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Mastering Modern Military Theory

Jiang Zemin, Chairman of thePRC Central Military Commis-sion, said when he receivedofficers above division com-mander level of the army sta-tioned in Chongqing, "It wasn'teasy for Zhang Ke, as a woman,to gain her Master's degree andget her commission as a deputyregimental commander in acombat troop."     

Archaeology and World-Systems Theory

Archaeology has tremendous potential for developing world-systems approaches to non-Western and noncapitalist societies because it has the ability to both explore non-Western and noncapitalist societies with the sophistication of anthropology and to explore societies in existence long before the capitalist world-system began to evolve. I suggest that sociologists stand to gain by learning about non-Western and noncapitalist societies, particularly as they are understood by archaeologists. World-systems theory provides a common framework within which archaeologists and sociologists can both work. This article explores recent work in world-systems archaeology that sociologists might find particularly valuable.