Sociology Plus
Critical Sociology Definition
Critical sociology is an umbrella term for sociological work that understands itself as critical of the economic, social, and political organisation of contemporary societies. Most critical sociologists are broadly Marxist in orientation, and many feminists would also accept the label.
Scope and Limits
Beyond this shared outlook, critical sociologists need have little in common, and they lack the specific philosophical foundation for critique that distinguishes critical theory proper. Since a degree of scepticism is a prerequisite for nearly all sociology — the discipline routinely tests the lay explanations people give for their actions and seeks to expose the hidden causes and consequences of social arrangements — what marks out self-proclaimed critical sociologists is usually an overt political agenda. Critics note the irony that they are all too often conspicuously uncritical of their own political preferences.