Alienation, Participation and Increasing Societal Complexity

Abstract

Provides definitions of the three concepts in the title and explores their interrelationships. Distinguishes six alienation dimensions – powerlessness; meaninglessness; normlessness; social isolation; cultural estrangement; self‐estrangement – and combines them with three kinds of participation: spontaneous, negative, and compensatory. Describes increasing societal complexity from a general systems perspective. Explores the psycho‐ and sociogenesis of unalienated as well as alienated participation. Increasing societal complexity creates new forms of alienation and participation, but also resistances of groups that feel threatened or left out by an excessively fast rate of change, which in turn threatens macro‐societal stability. Those left without the means to participate in the economic or political process tend to be the alienated “negative participants”; they are generally destructive and anti‐outgroup as a result of personal experiences or economic deprivation.

Citation

Geyer, F. (1994), "Alienation, Participation and Increasing Societal Complexity", Kybernetes, Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 10-34. https://doi.org/10.1108/03684929410054852