Habermas and rationalization: an empirical model linking social integration, political context and political participation

Abstract

<p>Habermas argues that modernity leads to a rationalization of the lifeworld, resulting in a variety of crises or disturbances at the cultural, societal and individual levels. This has implications for the ability of the state to maintain legitimacy. Recent research has called for revisiting the notion that ideology is created within an interactive context, much like Habermas suggests. This project develops a structural equation model incorporating various operationalizations of the "colonized lifeworld" and then uses the model to explore what impact modernity, and more specifically, rationalization, has on political context and political participation. The utility of the model is examined for two birth cohorts in 1965, 1973 and 1982. The findings suggest that rationalization, as manifested in selected aspects of the lifeworld, has implications for selected elements of political context (discourse, interest, knowledge, and ideological sophistication) and political participation. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the legitimacy crisis for the state.</p>