The Sociology of Sociological Interventions: Do Sociologists Make a Social Difference?

This chapter reviews the three major theoretical positions that underlie the sociology of intellectuals. It then links these theoretical positions to the type of concrete social intervention that is implied by the theory. Thus, the chapter provides an overview of this edited volume in terms of theories of intellectuals and their practical interventions in the real world. The first position conceptualises intellectuals as a stratum shaped by the particular social and economic settings surrounding them. As a stratum, intellectuals shape the world through public sociology, through which sociologists act on the world in accordance with their political positions. The second position conceptualises intellectuals as a class shaped primarily by economic and technocratic forces. As a class, intellectuals shape the world through sociological interventions, in which sociologists train social actors to create social change. The third position conceptualises intellectuals as a universal group shaped mostly by the internal features of academic life. As a universal group, intellectuals attempt to use their knowledge to solve social problems in a neutral way.