Thanks to the web, will individualism prevail over social determinism?

Reproduction, as described by Bourdieu and Passeron, is the authoritative theory in the sociology of education. But doesn't methodological individualism deserve more attention as the web opens new perspectives?

Reproduction

Bourdieu seeks to explain how reproduction plays out through a detailed analysis of what happens in education, culture and art. The Bourdieu Theory answers two key questions:[1]

• the cultural arbitrariness, which imposes as a valuable knowledge for all, that of the dominant culture;
• symbolic violence, to try to control those who think differently, through pedagogical authority, which is used to impose or inculcate these arbitrarily imposed values as objectives and which students incorporate as "habitus", uncritically, without even perceiving this violence.

For Bourdieu, educational systems contribute to the reproduction of the structure of power relations and symbolic relations between classes, by contributing to the reproduction of the structure of the distribution of cultural capital between these classes. The educational system differentiates students according to the class to which they belong, thus ensuring the triumph of those who emanate from the elite.

The answer implies a stratified society, within which relationships are expressed as a struggle of opposites in a dialectical manner. Bourdieu's Theory strives to develop a Sociology of Schooling, linking culture, class and domination. Bourdieu rethinks the fundamental axes of Marxism: social reproduction visualized in the social order, stratification illustrated by the distinction of social classes and its dialectic, and the heterogeneity of modern societies.

Methodological individualism

It was Max Weber who in his essay Economy and Society developed this concept of "methodological individualism". By this concept he claims that social phenomena can only be explained by the fact that they result from the sum of individual actions. Each of them being explained by the intentions that motivate each individual actor. [2]

The methodological individualism rests on three assumptions: [3]

• The first postulate is individualism. Any social phenomenon results from the combination of individual actions, beliefs, or attitudes

• The second postulate is understanding. It is to understand the actions, beliefs and attitudes of the individual actor, it is to reconstruct the meaning they have for him, which - in principle at least - is always possible.

• The third postulate is that of rationality. It posits that the actor adheres to a belief or undertakes an action because it makes sense to him, in other words, that the main cause of the subject's actions, beliefs, etc., lies in the meaning he gives them, more precisely in the reasons he has for adopting them

In the context of the choice of studies, the destiny of professional future, each would establish a strategy to optimize his future. This strategy would involve choices, particularly in educational matters.

What about the web in this?

In this article, "Can we learn everything remotely or via social networks?"[4], I have pointed out avenues on the possibilities offered by the Internet in general and social networks in particular, in order to be able to acquire knowledge or know-how.

Putting this in perspective with the three postulates of methodological individualism, we can think that logical and rational individuals you be able to develop strategies in order to achieve their professional goals.

Despite this, blockages exist and it is these blockages that we must identify if we are to combat this famous reproduction.

Among these blockages,

• the degree of autonomy that each learner can achieve [5];
• the ability to make choices that must result from a relevant analysis of the future evolution of the job market and of the useful skills to be developed, particularly with the digitization of entire sectors of the economy [6];
• the willingness to engage in an activity;
• confidence;

The web can be a factor of social emancipation and social mobility provided that barriers are removed.

Sources

[1] http://socio.ens-lyon.fr/cours/methodes/methodes_fiches_bourdieu_passeron_1964_benquet.pdf

[2] https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/methodological-individualism/

[3] https://www.cairn.info/revue-du-mauss-2004-2-page-281.htm

[4] https://cursus.edu/13334/peut-on-tout-apprendre-a-distance-ou-via-les-reseaux-sociaux

[5] https://cursus.edu/13292/dirigisme-ou-autonomie-quelle-est-la-meilleure-methode

[6] https://www.almatropie.org/