The problem of reclassifications in Luc Boltanski's work: cities, spirits of capitalism and institutions: Ciudades, espíritus del capitalismo e instituciones

Abstract

This article analyzes, in an emergent form, Boltanski's work from the problem of reclassifications, that is, from the practical ways of dividing the social and natural world, which establish attributes and hierarchies. To approach his “pragmatic sociology of critique”, concerned with the critical capacities of those who act, the article delves into two dimensions that cut across the different moments of his proposal: the links between its oppressive and emancipatory orientations, and between sociological and social reclassifications in general. Each section of the paper focuses on a certain stage of his work: the first centered on the concept of “cities”, the second on the “new spirit of capitalism” and the third on “institutions”. It concludes with a reflection on the tensions and ambiguities that propelled theoretical-analytical transformations and continuities between these three moments and, in particular, his difficulties to account for the relationships between his own sociological reclassifications and the general ones he analyzes.