A Critique of Habermas' Theory of Practical Rationality

DISCUSSION

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rational society. Before discussing my objections to his theory, I would like to explicate Habermas' arguments for the possibility and feasibility of critique and rationality. This in turn requires locating the theory of practical rationality within the general context of his ontological and epistemological critical system. Habermas' theory of practical ration- ality is based upon, and supported by, fundamental premises of his sociological, methodological, linguistic, and psychological assumptions. (1) At a sociological level Habermas' notion of practical rationality is based upon his theory of the unity of subject and object, his theory of the autonomy of symbolic interactions from the realm of instrumental action, and his theory of reification and ideology. In fact, the basic premises of his system can ultimately be understood in terms of his historicist assumption of the unity of subject and object in socio- historical reality. For Habermas, the basic ontological characteristics of society are that a society is created by the actions and interactions of individual human beings and has no independent "natural" existence outside human relations.9 In this regard, Habermas' critical theory radically departs from a structuralistic perspective and emphasizes human agency and the significance of meanings and consciousness in historical development.1° But if society is created by the actions and interactions of individuals, it is natural to argue that a rational society, i.e., a society determined by the conscious democratic decisions of its individual members, is an objective and concrete possibility. Moreover, according to Habermas the creation of society by human beings takes place through the two autonomous systems of instrumental action and symbolic interaction. Rejecting economistic Marxism, Habermas con- trasts the dialogic nature of institutional, normative arrangements to the monological character of technology and forces of production. 11 The assumption of the qualitative autonomy of institutional norms from the logic of instrumental action is used by Habermas to criticize a tech- nocratic reduction of practical rationality to the level of instrumental rationality. This in turn explains Habermas' definition of a rational society in terms of the rule of both technological professionalism and democracy. Finally, Habermas' assumption of the possibility of rationality is implicit in his theory of reification and ideology. According to him, society is created by individuals, but individuals can create society in a