Modernization theory

Public Sphere

In his formulation of a public sphere, Habermas gave prominence to the role of information, as, at this time, a greater freedom of the press was fought for and achieved with parliamentary reform. The wider availability of printing facilities and the resultant reduction in production costs of newspapers stimulated debate contributing to what Habermas calls 'rational-acceptable policies', which led by the mid-nineteenth century to the creation of a 'bourgeois public sphere'.

This idealized version of a public space was characterized by greater accessibility of information, a more open debate within the bourgeoi­sie, a space independent of both business interests and state apparatus. However, as capitalism expanded and attained dominance, the call for reform of the state was replaced by an effort to take it over to further business interests. As commercial interests became prominent in politics and started exerting their influence - for example, by lobbying parliament, funding political parties and cultural institutions - the autonomy of the public sphere was severely reduced.
In the 20th century, the growing power of information management and manipulation through public relations and lobbying firms has contributed to making contemporary debates a 'faked version' of a genuine public sphere (Habermas, 1989: 195). In this refeudalization' of the public sphere, public affairs have become occasions for 'displays' of power in the style of medieval feudal courts rather than a space for debate on socioeconomic issues.

Habermas also detects refeudalization in the changes within the mass media systems, which have become monopoly capitalist organi­za­tions, promoting capitalist interests, and thus affecting their role as disseminators of information for the public sphere. In a market-driven environment, the overriding concern for media corporations is to produce an artefact which will appeal to the widest possible variety of audiences and thus generate maximum advertising revenue. It is essential, therefore, that the product is diluted in content to meet the lowest common denominator - sex, scandal, celebrity lifestyles, action adventure and sensationalism. Despite their negligible informational quality such media products reinforce the audience's acceptance of 'the soft compulsion of constant consumption training' (Habermas, 1989: 192).

Though the idealized version of the public sphere has been criticized for its very male, Eurocentric and bourgeois limitations, the public sphere provides a useful concept in understanding democratic potential for communication processes (Calhoun, 1992; Dahlgren, 1995). In recent years, with the globalization of the media and communication, there has been talk about the evolution of a 'global public sphere' where issues of international significance - environment, human rights, gender and ethnic equality – can be articulated through the mass media, though the validity of such a concept is also contested (Sparks, 1998).