Crises in Advanced Capitalism

In the beginning chapters of Legitimation Crisis, J.Habermas, asserts that liberal-capitalism is prone to economic crisis such as that which develops from lowering profit motives and other financial set backs. Furthermore, in part II of the book, Habermas explains that under 'advanced capitalism', the economic crisis of liberal-capitalism is resolved differently i.e. more socially with government intervention, rather than autonomously without. Habermas also explicates and interprets 'crises' in terms of four major areas which are all labeled crises of the economic, rationality,legitimation and motivation. Habermas's claim in these descriptions is that capitalist society inevitably becomes socialist in some respect, consequently leading to ideological conflict, that in turn leads to normative, legitimative, operational and economic problems. Despite the strong argument and claims that Habermas offers in support of the his pro-social claims, the question of normative and motivational uncertainty does not seem to be as problematic as Habermas thinks. Moreover, if advanced capitalism is ultimately guided by possessive individualism (if only indirectly), is it not the case that any emergent crisis and its solution is already legitimized? In other words, what is wrong with bourgeois art, (advanced) possessive individualism, scientism, and bourgeois formal law if it itself is a result and consequence of a self-legitimized and willed advanced capitalism? Also, is it not also the case that liberal-capitalism also has some social aspects and concerns in its proportionally smaller government?

Part II of Legitimation Crisis, begins with a discussion of advanced capitalism, and its problems and crises. In the first chapter.of.part.II,Habermas.identifies.the.scope.of.advanced.capitalism.and.distinguishesit.from.liberal.capitalism."
organized.or.state.regulated.capitalism.refers.to
..the.advanced.stage.of.the.accumulation.process...theprocess.of.economic.concentration...
multinational.corporations...organization of markets for goods, capital and labor...and partial replacement of the market mechanism by state intervention."(p.33) Furthermore, Habermas discusses advanced capitalism in terms of four a attributes, economic system, administrative system, legitimation system and class structure. Essentially, these areas of society are respectively associated with government intervention with market-orientation, market-strategies, capital and labor intensive industries for the economic system; global planning, economic cycle, fiscal and financial regulation, productivity, infrastructure, and international economy for the administrative system; relations of production, universalistic values, will formation, civic privatism, and a corresponding achievement ideology for the legitimation system; and social anonymity, and social integration in terms of price setting, wage structure, inflation, and other state regulated factors in terms of public well being and behavior, and formation of quasi-groups for class structure.

Chapters two and three outline problems and crises in regard to the systems and structure presented in chapter one. These characteristics however, serve the purpose of propaganda rather than the identifying of genuine and unique flaws in the capitalist system. Moreover, other government matrixes have the same or similar problems. Nevertheless, three global problems are presented as connected to advanced capitalism; they are problems in ecological balance, anthropological balance, and international balance. Moreover, these problems are primarily concerned with finitude of resources for ecological balance, personality systems, socialization and mass loyalty for anthropological balance; and establishing of self-limitations (military spending) on the global scale for international balance. These problems are 'consequences' of many systems and are therefore irrelevant to the delegitimizing of advanced capitalism. Thus, crises unique to the system may have more argumentative weight. Such crises include economic, rationality, legitimation and motivation crises. Habermas defines these crises as follows: economic crises include the continuation in lacking accumulation within the new system; rationality crises include a lacking administrative system in terms of its ability to regulate the economy and/or steer; legitimation system is closely related to rationality system in that a continuation of the former, leads to a loss of legitimation/loyalty; and motivation crises refers to changes in normative structures such as moral systems and worldviews that can lead to a significant transformation of legitimation. Moreover, a turbulent motivational crisis could lead to the downfall of economic values thereby changing the notion of capitalism within advanced capitalism.

The rest of part II deals with these four types of crisis in greater detail. Economic crisis is further discussed as the increased proliferation of state social regulation for the benefit of the 'orthodox collective capitalist interest'. Moreover, the putative 'class struggle' of advanced capitalism can lead to wage regulation, inflation and then crisis. "State interventions are nonetheless actions, although instrumental for capital realization, of a non-capitalist...collective will...administrative activity must intensify economic crisis..under these conditions, economic processes can no longer be conceived immanently as movements of a self-regulating economic system." (p.51-52) Thus, government intervention in advanced capitalism not only aids the economy but hinders it. The question here is, to what benefits does the intervention apply, and are they useful enough to warrant a legitimized larger government. Furthermore, is it not the case that liberal-capitalism also regulated some aspects of the economy to a lesser extent? and if so, is not also the case that a collective capitalist will has always been an element of capitalism? Moreover, is it not the case that those who fight each other to the death do so collectively as well?

Rationality crisis emerges when the state does not perform its designated quasi-economic role in advanced capitalism. Moreover, when the collective interest represented by the government conflicts with private interests, possible gridlock emerges, leading to a de-legitimizing effect. "In this situation, the collective-capitalist interest in system maintenance is in competition with the...individual capital groupings...The crisis cycle, distributed over time...is replaced by inflation and a permanence crisis in public finances." (p.61) However, this is capitalist interest of the mass competing with capitalist interest of autonomous capitalist groups (a mere capitalist growing pain) and is thereby still capitalist. Moreover, so long as the capitalist 'sheep' or the powerless capitalists are given the opportunity to be equally capitalist, a legitimation crisis will not occur and rationality will correct itself in favor of the wealthy as true capitalist state will do. "The problematic consequences of a socialization of production, speeded up through state intervention, therefore destroy the conditions for application of important instruments of state intervention itself." (p.67)

Next, if a government is unable to fulfill its designated administrative tasks it loses legitimation. This however, is based on 'hermeneutic' interpretation of task and thus becomes directly related to motivational aspects of legitimization. "Apparently, traditions can retain legitimizing force only as long as they are not torn out of interpretive systems that guarantee continuity and identity." (p.71) Moreover, as long as some degree of 'civil privatism'/depoliticized public realm continues to exist within advanced capitalism, then a complete legitimation crisis will not occur. Moreover, if the normative structures of freedom and economic opportunity are not impinged too much, no severe crisis will emerge. Thus, what constitutes motivational aspects of advanced capitalism? if it is not freedom and economic interest, then advanced capitalism is no longer capitalist.

Habermas discusses art, possessive individualism, scientism, universalistic morality and exchange value to further identify advanced capitalism. Moreover, exchange values refer to those individuals who "do not reproduce their lives through income for labor."(p.83) Also, possessive individualism which was once focused on private wealth is now more dependent on infrastructure which aids in the accumulation of that wealth. Scientism is the promotion of a scientific positivism that can lead to a common consciousness. Art, specifically modern, "strengthens the divergence between values offered by socio-cultural system and those demanded by the political economic systems" (p.86) Last, universalistic morality refers to the array of different values that emerge in advanced capitalism such as formal law which allows the intentional creation of values to a certain extent "In advanced capitalism more and more members have at their disposal basic universalistic qualifications for action within roles." (p.92)

In conclusion, Habermas states that economic crisis is diluted in advanced capitalism, and that if economic crisis perpetuates, the total system itself, including the administrative system, must alter its motivations if the existing government is to remain legitimized. Habermas explains this in reference to the four types of crises summarized above. The question is however, do such crises emerge in advanced capitalism? Habermas describes what occurs within such a system and what could happen, but he offers no convincing evidence for the continuation of economic crisis within advanced capitalism.