Toward a Rational Society

Jürgen Habermas is a German philosopher and sociologist in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. He is perhaps best known for his theories on communicative rationality and the public sphere. In 2014, Prospect readers chose Habermas as one of their favourites among the "world's leading thinkers". Jeremy J. Shapiro, is an American academic, a professor at Fielding Graduate University who works in the area of critical social theory with emphasis on the social and cultural effects of information technology and systems, social change, and the aesthetics of music.

• Translator's Preface viiChapter One: The University in a Democracy—Democratization of the University 1Chapter Two: Student Protest in the Federal Republic of Germany 13Chapter Three: The Movement in Germany: A Critical Analysis 31Three IntentionsFirst Justification: The Theory of ImperialismSecond Justification: NeoanarchismThird Justification: Cultural RevolutionThe Actual ResultsThe Source of the Protest PotentialWhat Is to Be Done?Chapter Four: Technical Progress and the Social Life-World 50Chapter Five: The Scientization of Politics and Public Opinion 62Chapter Six: Technology and Science as "Ideology" 81Notes 123Index 129