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Legitimation Crisis

Legitimation Crisis is a term specifically referring to a situation where, within a capitalist democracy (e.g. the U.S. and many countries in Western Europe) where there is a legal system that is able to be enforced, but the actual legitimacy of government to control what people do is in question. It is a term that was coined by Jurgen Habermas, a German Sociologist, who was of the Marxist school of Sociological thought. He is one of the only recent Sociologists, in a time of postmodernism, who chooses to focus his attention of the social development of culture. He hoped to explain how and why social events have happened over time, what caused the world to change from premodernity to modernity, and what these events have meant, and mean for people in the present and future. Generally speaking, legitimation crises of government lead to revolutions and uprisings (or Social Evolutions), therefore expanding upon Marxist ideas of conflict theory.

This problem of legitimation crisis is highly connected to the idea of modernity, and how problems of government rule are now dealt with, and many movements in the past and present are considered to be forms of this. Although Habermas, being a Western European, specifically refers to the changes that occurred in European governments around in the 20th Century, the idea of legitimation crisis can be used to explain other events, of which he was not necessarily focused on.

Habermas’ View on Legitimation Crisis

Habermas saw government as an integral part of social development. Since the enlightenment, civilizations have become increasingly more and more “democratic” in a sense. People like to believe that as their societies become more and more modern, that their governments will become more and more responsive to their needs, and therefore, that people will have more power.

Habermas sees this (similarly to Marx) as not necessarily being the case. He sees capitalism as a form of government, that as it becomes more and more sophisticated, people would become more and more aware of their exploitation. He described different “classes” of capitalism (from Modern Capitalism, to Liberal Capitalism, to Advanced Capitalism), and with the creation of Advanced Capitalism, tendencies for Legitimation Crisis would arise. This is the state of capitalism that is now dominate in the Westernized world, and, thus, this is why Habermas feels that a crisis of legitimate power arises.

Legitimation Crisis in the Past

Although Habermas’s use of the term Legitimation Crisis referred to something that happened as a result of capitalist democracy, this term can help explain the transition in the Westernized world from Monarchies, where the people have essentially no power in what went on in areas of government, to capitalist democracies, where essentially people had control over their own destinies and were free to try to move up within their government.

For example, using Habermas’s idea, it could be argued that a legitimation crisis occurred during events such as the French Revolution in 1789. According to Habermas, this trial of Louis XVI and the speeches that were given represented "a tentative evolutionary shift from a magical-mythico world view to a modern 'rational' and putatively democratic one, and [...] an advance based on social learning" Because the French of this time period sought to establish a government that somehow represented their voices better, there was a “crisis” of finding a way to “legitimize” their government beyond just being able to force laws on them. They no longer believed that there was some sort of legitimate “will of God” to follow their King, and thus there was no legitimate reason to follow. Although this is a more simplistic type of government structure than the capitalist democracies of today that Habermas discusses, this runs along the same lines as to why people in the modern world try to enact change.

Legitimation Crisis in the Present

In this day and age, governments’ legitimacy are under question all the time. This is particularly obvious in less developed areas. But even in Western Europe, where Habermas did his theorizing, has been undergoing a legitimizing process right now. Starting in 2001, the European Union began to start devising a European constitution. Because of the crisis to show the people that they have some sort of representation in the government within Europe in general, this was necessary. “The European institutions must be brought closer to its citizens. […] Citizens are calling for a clear, open, effective, democratically controlled Community approach, developing a Europe which points the way ahead for the world.”

A question of legitimate power that is a problem for the U.S. is that fact that in 2000, George W. Bush did not win the majority vote, so, in that sense, he was not voted president. Yet, despite the fact that he did not win the majority vote, he is still the president. The question becomes, is he, as president, could he be considered a legitimate part of the U.S. government? The fact is, he is still able to do all the things other presidents have been able to do, so he still has some ability to make laws.

Another question of legitimacy in the U.S. government is the war in Iraq. When the idea was proposed, about the country was split about whether or no to go to war. In the end, the U.S. went to war despite this ambiguity. Does this show that the actions of the U.S. government in this affair do not demonstrate legitimate representation of the U.S. citizens?

Legitimation Crisis in the Future?

Because Habermas was highly influenced by Marx, the concept of Legitimation Crisis may be related to Marx’s theory of subordinates engaging in praxis and overturning the system. Marx’s theories, although referring to Proletariats and Capitalists, could be interpreted as problems that anyone who is exploited by the Capitalist system (i.e. those with no political power) may also rise up and try to enact change.Although this has not happened yet in the U.S., one must wonder if it is possible that it could happen sometime in the future.

Globalization, due to job outsourcing, has caused (and will cause) many Americans to lose their jobs. This could potentially lead American people to become unhappy with their government, and as Habermas had said, this (within a Advanced Capitalist government) is what causes legitimation crisis to occur.