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Social criticism is a form of academic or journalistic criticism focusing on social issues in contemporary society, in respect to perceived injustices and power relations in general.
Five fragments of text produced by the ancient Greek philosopher Xenophanes (c.570-c.478 BC) cover aspects of social criticism, including comments on the adulation directed to leading sport players and advice on living a life of moderation. These fragments have been seen as anticipating some of the later writings of Plato in his Republic. [1]
The origins of modern social criticism date back at least to the Age of Enlightenment. According to the historian Jonathan Israel the roots of the radical enlightenment can be found in Spinoza and his circle. [2]
The positivism dispute between critical rationalism and the Frankfurt School, [3] dealt with the question of whether research in the social sciences should be "neutral" or consciously adopt a partisan view. Academic works of social criticism can belong to social philosophy, political economy, sociology, social psychology, psychoanalysis but also cultural studies and other disciplines or reject academic forms of discourse. [4]
Social criticism can be expressed in a fictional form, e.g. in a revolutionary novel like The Iron Heel (1908) by Jack London, in dystopian novels like Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932), George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 (1953), and Rafael Grugman's Nontraditional Love (2008), or in children's books or films. According to Frederick Douglass, "Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe." [5]
Satirical fables are also creatively used as a criticism strategy to expose the inaction and the superficial, performative efforts of governments and corporations in mitigating climate change and addressing environmental problems. For instance, Vuong Quan Hoang wrote in Wild Wise Weird, "*Grand conclusion: The report is still completely honest, trustworthy, and ethical, even though the data are fabricated, and measurements are falsified. The methane emission reduction campaign has achieved phenomenal success. Therefore, the bird village approves the inclusion of the report in Kingfisher’s lifetime achievement archive." [6]
Social criticism is present in opera (e.g. The Cradle Will Rock or Trouble in Tahiti ) and other types of classical music, such as the Symphony No.13, called "Babi Yar", of Dmitri Shostakovich. Musical expressions of social criticism are also found in rock and rap music, with examples that include "God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols [7] and "Brenda's Got a Baby" by 2Pac.
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