Page 81 - The ISA Handbook in Contemporary Sociology

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52 THE ISA HANDBOOK IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY

● the dislocation of moral issues, compartmentaliza- One of these new approaches is ‘Die
tion of traditional functions of moral consciousness, Plannungzelle’ (in English ‘The Planning
and the spread of anomie, understood as the dis- Cell’), after Peter Dienel who initiated this
integration of basic values, and increased vague- reform movement in 1997. It is also known,
ness with respect to what is considered right and worldwide, as ‘Citizens’ Juries’ after the
wrong and American participatory democracy institu-
● the prevalence of superficiality, the disappear-
ance of cultural demands, the departure from the tion that was initiated at the same time in the
classical cultural heritage and national traditions, USA (1972) and influenced by ideas of
as well as the willingness to make use of and Thomas Jefferson.
disseminate cultural ersatz. The ‘Planning Cell’ is a group of randomly
selected citizens released (with remuneration)
The world system is moving towards a sit- from their daily duties for a limited period in
uation often described as ‘glocalization’. order to work out solutions to problems.
Both individuals and local communities are Process moderators assist them. In this
influenced by international discourses and method, the citizens act as lay assessors or lay
they are active in the implementation of these planners. In order to avoid all forms of selec-
discourses in local cultural contexts. With the tive distortion, a systematic random procedure
help of negotiation, global governance acts in of selection from a clearly demarcated basic
an organizational field of local actors. At its population is necessary. In this way a micro-
most effective, it acts through reflexive, cosm of society is formed, in which all social
responsive processes, forming an institu- strata and age groups and both sexes have the
tional milieu of relative consensus and chance of being represented. It is possible to
collaboration on the basis of local values include as many social values as possible in the
(OECD, 2001). This can be done with decision-making process. As well as possess-
respect to international contracts and proj- ing ‘common sense’ and everyday experience,
ects. In this situation, governance often aims participants are provided with the necessary
at increasing the competitiveness of the given factual information. The input of this informa-
region in the international arena. tion takes place mainly in the form of
An unusual symbiosis between global and pre-prepared informative material, hearings
traditional trends at a cellular level is occur- with affected interest groups, interviews with
ring in many countries, which gives every experts, on-the-spot visits, etc. (Dienel 1997;
national situation its own special flavour and Steward et al., 1994).
meaning. Some crisis-stricken societies, such The Planning Cell illustrates a type of
as Russia, actually find a relative stabiliza- ‘pragmatic utopian construction’ set up to
tion through integration into world processes. address the conflicts and problems of modern
In this sense, societies of the Commonwealth globalization. The influence of these con-
of Independent States (CIS) are influenced structions is not linked to institutional control
by these trends to a greater extent than the over nation-states, but to a ‘moral authority’
relatively stable western societies, and are of their ordinary members and recommenda-
acting as a kind of proving ground for trends tions worked out by them. Rather than focusing
that will fully manifest themselves globally on legal balances between powerful actors on
only in the future. the international political scene, this scheme
While globalization opens new opportuni- offers a possibility for an alternative choice
ties, it also generates new threats. It has in the formation of global discourses.
resulted in an anomic world, making gover- Furthermore, this approach represents
nance very difficult. This situation calls for an example of sociotechnics with a slightly
new forms of sociotechnics. There are some utopian bent. While it builds on the early
instances of brand new procedures geared aspirations to activate civil society, it does not,
towards civil involvement at a global level. however, link them to the trust in a consensus