從「工業社會」論到「管理社會」論：「現代社會」理論的回顧與批判

From Industrial Society to Administered Society--A Critical Study on the Theories of Modern Society

Ortega y Gasset曾指出科技與民主在本世紀的進一步發展，促發了大眾社會現象的出現。但他同時也指出，正由於大眾之大量出現，也可能產生使科技與民主喪失其本質的危險性。一九四０年代以後的大眾社會理論基本上繼承了這種看法，並且曾一度成為甚具影響力的分析現代社會的理論。可是自從第二次世界大戰以後，西方資本主義曾有一段時期達到空前的繁榮與發展。在此社會經濟基礎之上，產生了「意識形態終結論」、「工業社會」、「後工業社會」、「新產業國家」、「高度大眾消費社會」、「知識社會」及「管理社會」等社會理論。與之同時，大眾社會理論卻似乎銷聲斂跡，甚少被西方學者所提到。本文對這些理論的來龍去脈予以批判性分析。一方面通過這些「現代社會」論以瞭解現代社會的本質及其未來發展的可能性，一方面則繼承大眾社會理論的觀點對其缺陷予以批判。本研究認為「工業社會」論偏重技術發展的社會影響，充滿了對未來樂觀的展望，可以說是「大眾社會」論的反面理論。而「知識社會」論與「管理社會」論的關係也是如此。在後工業社會，知識社會論似乎繼承了工業社會論，而管理社會論則部份地繼承了大眾社會理論的原旨。為了避免科技與「民主」的發展產生了無可補救的破壞性影響，為了尋求另一個未來的可能性，批判的「管理社會」論應該受到重視。

Have the theories on mass society become obsolete today? This is the theme the author tries to examine in this paper. As Ortega y Gasset has pointed out, the rapid development of both technology and democracy in the 20th century has sparked the emergence of mass society phenomnon. Since the early 1940s, the mass society theory, which appeared as a critical theory of modem society, has once become one of the most influential means for the analysis of modem society. However, since the 1960s, founded on the long period of unparalleled prosperity enjoyed by the Western capitalism, there appeared various kinds of theory on modem society such as:“the end of ideology＂,“industrial society＂,“post-industrial society＂,“the new industrial state＂，“advanced mass consuming society”,“knowledge society,” or “administered society”etc.. Concurrent with these new emerging theories, the theories of mass society seemed to be dissappeared and neglected by most of the Western scholars. This paper discusses briefly the main ideas of these“new”social theories and analyzes the social contexts underlying them. It is hoped that, by doing so, the very nature of modem society will become more clearly. The author also examines critically the ideological nature of these theories, especially from the viewpoint of mass society theory. It is found that the so-called industrial society theory concerned mainly with the social impact of the development of technology while neglecting the danger that democracy might become devoid of substance in due time. Obviously it is developed as the counter-theory of mass society theories. The same relation can be seen in the opposite concepts between “knwoledge society theory” and “administered society theory.” While the former succeeds the theory of “industrial society”,the latter the critical theory of mass society. In order to avoid the destructive consequences brought about by the“further”development of technology and democracy, and to search for the possibility of the alternative future of our society, it is an imperative that the critical theory of administered society should be given serious consideration. Because, the author believes, the key points raised by the mass society theory still stand.