The Quest for Subjectivity of the Mass —a Chapter In the History of Sociology―

After World War II, amid the sharp conflict between capitalism and socialism, the theory that the masses should be the protagonists of society became dominant in the post-fascist society. Existentialist thought, which gained prominence after the war, was based on the idea that human freedom and the need for existence in problem-solving precedes the being and explored. Both external and internal conditions make these actions possible. In other words, it is an attempt to derive internal conditions from the relationship between humans and nature, and external conditions from the social relationships between humans and humans.

However, only when external and internal conditions are combined does it become a person's real subjectivity. Postwar thought, which failed to discover its organic combination, was forced to reconstruct it. Sociology has explored these external conditions as an empirical science while social psychology has explored these internal conditions. But both have failed to connect external and internal conditions. Now, the masses do not have the social influence to become the protagonists of society.

As a result, the crisis of freedom and democracy are being raised, and even the arrival of fascism is being discussed.

Given this situation, perhaps a chapter in the history of sociology is needed to narrate the history from the emergence of this issue to the present to establish the subjectivity of the masses.

Let us discuss and complete this chapter.