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Social criticism is a form of academic or journalisticcriticism focusing on social issues in contemporarysociety, in respect to perceivedinjustices andpower relations in general.
Five fragments of text produced by theancient Greek philosopherXenophanes (c.570-c.478 BC) cover aspects of social criticism, including comments on theadulation directed to leading sport players and advice on living a life of moderation. These fragments have been seen as anticipating some of the later writings ofPlato in hisRepublic.[1]
The origins of modern social criticism date back at least to theAge of Enlightenment. According to the historianJonathan Israel the roots of the radical enlightenment can be found inSpinoza and his circle.[2] Radical enlighteners likeJean Meslier were not satisfied with the social criticism of the time, which was essentially a criticism of religion. The focus of his criticism was the suffering of the peasants. In addition, there was also a criticism of civilization for religious reasons, such as that which emanated from theQuakers in England.Jean-Jacques Rousseau developed a social criticism in hispolitical philosophy which influenced the French Revolution and in his pedagogy.
Thepositivism dispute betweencritical rationalism and theFrankfurt School,[3] dealt with the question of whether research in thesocial sciences should be "neutral" or consciously adopt a partisan view. Academic works of social criticism can belong tosocial philosophy,political economy,sociology,social psychology,psychoanalysis but alsocultural studies and other disciplines or reject academic forms ofdiscourse.[4]
Social criticism can be expressed in a fictional form, e.g. in arevolutionary novel likeThe Iron Heel (1908) byJack London, indystopian novels likeAldous Huxley'sBrave New World (1932),George Orwell'sNineteen Eighty-Four (1949),Ray Bradbury'sFahrenheit 451 (1953), andRafael Grugman'sNontraditional Love (2008), or inchildren's books or films. According toFrederick Douglass, "Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe."[5]
Fictional literature can have a significant social impact. For example, the 1852 novelUncle Tom's Cabin, byHarriet Beecher Stowe furthered theanti-slavery movement in the United States, and the 1885 novelRamona, byHelen Hunt Jackson, brought about changes in laws regardingNative Americans. Similarly,Upton Sinclair's 1906 novelThe Jungle helped create new laws related to public health and food handling, andArthur Morrison's 1896 novelA Child of the Jago caused England to change its housing laws.[citation needed]
Charles Dickens and Orwell respectively wroteA Tale of Two Cities andAnimal Farm to express their disillusionment with society and human nature.A Tale of Two Cities typifies this kind of literature. Besides the central theme of love is another prevalent theme, that of a revolution gone bad. Dickens shows that human nature causes humans to be vengeful and at time overly ambitious. Both of these books are similar in that both describe how, even with the best of intentions, human ambitions get the best of them.Animal Farm, written in 1944, is a book that tells the animal fable of a farm in which the farm animals revolt against their human masters. It is an example of social criticism in literature in which Orwell satirized the events in Russia after theBolshevik Revolution. He anthropomorphizes the animals, and alludes each one to a counterpart inRussian history. Both authors also demonstrate that violence and the Machiavellian attitude of "the ends justifying the means" are deplorable. They also express their authors' disenchantment with the state of evolution of human nature.[citation needed]
Dickens and Orwell imply, that even if humans begin with honourable intentions, there will be some who will let their basic instincts take control. InA Tale of Two Cities, Dickens examines the inner soul, and shares with us how people are driven to the valley of human emotions, where desperation and anger reign, and what could happen afterwards if we let these emotions build up inside. Every human being is capable of becoming a ruthless, opportunistic being likeNapoleon orMadame Defarge, if placed in the right place, at the right time.Animal Farm portrays this nature through parodying events in real history. Given the right conditions, these events could happen anywhere, for example a leader becoming overly ambitious to the point of harming his people for more power.
Satirical fables are also creatively used as a criticism strategy to expose the inaction and the superficial, performative efforts of governments and corporations in mitigating climate change and addressing environmental problems. For instance, Vuong Quan Hoang wrote inWild Wise Weird, "*Grand conclusion: The report is still completely honest, trustworthy, and ethical, even though the data are fabricated, and measurements are falsified. The methane emission reduction campaign has achieved phenomenal success. Therefore, the bird village approves the inclusion of the report in Kingfisher’s lifetime achievement archive."[6]
Social criticism is present inopera (e.g.The Cradle Will Rock orTrouble in Tahiti) and other types ofclassical music, such as theSymphony No.13, called "Babi Yar", ofDmitri Shostakovich.Musical expressions of social criticism are also found inrock andrap music, with examples that include "God Save the Queen" by theSex Pistols[7] and "Brenda's Got a Baby" by2Pac.
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