About Laurent Thévenot

Professor Laurent Thévenot is Directeur d’études at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris and Senior researcher at the Centre d’Etudes de l’Emploi.
As a leading figure in the foundation of the pragmatic sociology of engagement and the “Convention Theory”, Thévenot has been very influential in the new French social sciences. He co-authored, with Luc Boltanski, the book “On Justification. The Economies of Worth” (2006) which is considered one of the most important works in pragmatic sociology. He also co-edited two books concerning new approaches of action, the practical engagement of objects and social cognition:Les objets dans l’action, and Cognition et information en société

Abstract

Along the historical metamorphoses of authorities and powers claiming legitimacy, the most recent step led to a significant move. It shifted from a kind of government concentrated in sovereigns, rulers and representatives, to a different kind of “empire” of individuals. This power distributed on the “investiture” of individuals is actually based on a new kind of global – and largely non-state – mode of governing through certification standards.

Questions

What kind of sociology is needed to grasp this change which affects both political communities and personalities? Which new oppressions result from this government? How can an embarrassed critique find new expressions?