Alain Ehrenberg : Autonomy and Empowerment

Marks, John

Abstract

This article considers Alain Ehrenberg's extensive analysis of individualism in contemporary France. It shows how he has traced the emergence of autonomy as a key social value, and it goes on to analyse the distinctive features of Ehrenberg's sociological approach. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Ehrenberg does not regard the growth of individualism in France as a tragic process of anomie and isolation. In fact, he is critical of what he sees as a pervasive French discourse of ‘declinology’, and he has expressed his growing frustration with this perspective more recently in explicitly political terms. Although he acknowledges that autonomy can be burdensome for individuals, he feels that the state should respond to the sociological fact of autonomy by supporting and empowering citizens as autonomous agents. The article concludes by drawing attention to the limitations of this political position.

Citation

Marks, J. (2022). Alain Ehrenberg : Autonomy and Empowerment. French Cultural Studies, 33(2), 105-117. https://doi.org/10.1177/09571558211063336

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 24, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Dec 3, 2021
• Publication Date: 2022-05
• Deposit Date: Nov 5, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 3, 2021
• Journal: French Cultural Studies
• Print ISSN: 0957-1558
• Electronic ISSN: 1740-2352
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 33
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 105-117
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/09571558211063336
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/6613251
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/09571558211063336