Social engineering (political science)
Social engineering [' səʊʃl ˌ endʒɪ'niəɹɪŋ ] (English " applied social science" ) called in social science or in political science efforts to create or improve social structures. The term was introduced in 1945 by Karl Popper in his book The Open Society and Its Enemies.
Here Popper criticized the notion that one could imagine an ideal society and then proceed to do to achieve this ideal; in contrast, consists of Popper befürwortetes social engineering is, in each case to intervene by creating appropriate institutions only in sections of the society in order to solve specific problems.
Popular of the term was in the early 1970s as an expression of optimism with which it was believed to be able to transform for the better human society with rational or engineering-based methods. Quite contrary to Popper's attitude manipulative methods were not rejected.
Strictly speaking, this category goes back to John Broadus Watson, the founder of the American school of behaviorism. The original intention behind this concept Watson was the socio- critical idea that he could make every child what he wanted. The thesis was directed primarily against the view that the children Schwarzer due to biogenetic factors are less intelligent than the offspring of whites. Watson wanted to prove that intelligence is a socio - cultural, not a biological factor, ie mainly of learning processes depends primarily through social engineering.
As part of the liberal market economy, the experimental methods of behaviorism have also been used to " objectively " to explore human behavior by testing, to modify it according to certain interests to manipulate. The "objective" behind the method related interests, according to authors such as Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno in the sense of objective self- understanding of the "positive" science never reported or reflected as such. Accordingly, the positive or empirical science of them is referred to as the most prominent manifestation of instrumental reason ( Compare also the Frankfurt School, Critical Theory ).
In the socio-political sense, the term is more of a negative connotation. Under social engineering are now in the broadest sense, all forms of government (legislative, executive, judicial ) and non-governmental ( fourth power = press, media, propaganda ) understood action, governed by which social coexistence and social change processes are set in motion or blocked. The term assumes a scientific effort covering, purpose -oriented and rather technocratic ( technocracy ) approach from the relevant stakeholders.
Definition
Social engineering in the narrow sense means the manipulation of the demographic, social and age structure of a society through government policies such as eugenics, immigration law, immigration law, birth control, family support, etc.