Globalization — The End of Habitus?
In Modernity at Large. Cultural Dimensions of Globalization Arjun Appadurai suggests that of the two ideas central to Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus — improvisation and reproduction — only the first one is still relevant today. Taking Apparurai’s thesis as a point of departure, I briefly discuss Bourdieu’s conception of habitus and try to answer the question which aspects of globalization Bourdieu neglects and criticizes and what his opinion on this phenomenon is. Contrary to Appadurai, who prefers the metaphor of chaos and flow to characterize our present condition, the author of Distinction perceives social structures as much more stable and the distribution of capital as decisive to people’s social trajectories. In this view, I argue, globalization seems less a reality and more a myth — a word belonging to “neoliberal vulgate”, serving certain social groups in their struggle against the dictates of welfare state. Finding the arguments of both sides of the dispute convincing, I argue that Bourdieu’s view on globalization is consistent with his underestimation of human reflexivity as well as his passion for unmasking social inequalities.
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