Why Public Sociology May Fail

When first confronted with this year's ASA theme of public sociology, I thought there was nothing controversial. I figured "public sociology" would be a positive, if vacuous, theme — one we could all agree upon. The early indications were that my hunch was correct. Much of the public sociology rhetoric seemed to be preaching to the choir. Most sociologists would agree that sociology should have a larger public role in society. While other ASA presidential addresses (e.g., Gans 1989) have raised this topic before, Burawoy could rally the troops and boost our morale. One of the most important things that public sociology might accomplish is to undermine the pessimistic view that the discipline of sociology is in steep decline.¹ In some of Burawoy's recent work, this is, in fact, what we find.

If those are Burawoy's goals, I think he might succeed.² By other criteria, however, I am afraid public sociology will fail. The failure of public sociology will be driven mainly by serious shortcomings in its agenda and program. In what follows, I begin by clarifying the value and meaning of public sociology. Then, I discuss five reasons why I anticipate that Burawoy's public sociology may fail.

The Value and Meaning of Public Sociology

To clarify, I am positive about the idea of sociology becoming a more public social science (Wilson 1993). I would be delighted to learn that I was wrong about Burawoy's public sociology. Nevertheless, some elements of public sociology need to be clarified. The confusion over some of these elements has, in my view, been a major source of the skeptical reactions. So, the first part of this commentary is a defense of Burawoy.

It seems to me that public sociology essentially involves two ideas: reaching a public audience and serving to improve the public's well-being. I would argue that all sociologists either are in agreement with these goals or should be. Supporters of public sociology may respond that these two claims are sufficiently innocuous that they do not warrant mention. Still, I hope skeptics and critics of public sociology keep these in mind.

The first matter — reaching a public audience — involves gaining a broader and larger reception for sociological research and theories. In short, a public audience includes anyone beyond the discipline of sociology. Realistically, all sociologists would appreciate more readers of their scholarship. Even if the broader public audience is merely limited to other social science disciplines, even critics of public sociology would welcome this. If sociologists want the opportunity to reach a broader audience, then they are implicitly wanting to be public sociologists in at least one form. Many times, sociologists — even those most skeptical of public sociology — desire the opportunity to have power holders and adversarial disciplines as audience members. All Burawoy is doing is calling for our audience to include mass democratic publics along with those that are normally welcome.³ Ultimately, if one seeks a public audience (of any kind), this seems consistent with public sociology.

The second matter — serving to improve the public's well-being — involves seeking to contribute to the betterment of society and the lives of its members. This may strike more readers as controversial. Others may be concerned that if one is seeking to change the world, one cannot be a serious scholar. However, I do not think public sociology necessitates a utopian vision. Rather, public sociology is simply the acknowledgement that sociology must ultimately seek to improve the lives of people.⁴ The betterment of society can be indirect, remote and in the very long run. But, we should aim for a lasting outcome to sociological research that links to improved human well-being. This does not necessitate that sociologists engage in immediate direct action. But sociology must maintain at least an indirect connection to improving society. As Durkheim (1984) wrote in The Division of Labor in Society that,

Yet, because what we propose to study is above all reality, it...