The struggle for recognition: Axel Honneth´s contributions for a moral (and liberal) grammar of social conflicts

Resumo

In the present article I will uphold that Honneth´s version of the theory of recognition (as a logical consequence of Hegel´s concept of ´Sittlichkeit´) has relevant dimensions for the analysis of social conflicts and for the development of social theory in general. I will analyze the arguments in favor of a “normative” content for social theory and I will argue, following Honneth, that the main cause of conflict in the theory of recognition works as a critic of the classic model of conflict in modern social thought (the model of material “survival” in Machiavelli and Hobbes). Later, I will outline the core characteristics that this theory may acquire in the discussion of the communitarian possibilities in democratic life. Lastly, I will point out in the conclusions the main advantages and potentialities that the theory of recognition could eventually gain in every intellectual or politi cal conversation that intent to engage current democratic shapes: in this sense, I think it is possible to affirm that this theory is a fundamental input in the task of shaping a liberal conception of social conflicts