From abstract to concrete

pp. 91-129

in: José M. Dominguès, Critical theory and political modernity, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019

Abstract

Finally, Domingues gives pride of place to concreteness. It forces its way into political modernity, which tried to neutralize it. Initially featuring the nation and the people—particularly Michelet and Herder—as already concrete features of political modernity, concreteness is further discussed with reference to neopatrimonialism, social policy (with two strands: social citizenship, sectorialized policies and social liberalism) and a corresponding complexification of bureaucracy and the state by and large. Domingues stresses the re-personification of politics, once again against the backdrop of Schmitt's ideas. Marshall plays an important role in the chapter, but many others are mobilized. The second part of the chapter grapples with methodological issues regarding developmental trends and mechanisms, in dialogue with Marx, Bhaskar and "path dependency" arguments.