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{{short description|Contemporary social theory}}
'''False necessity''', or '''anti-necessitarian social theory''', is a contemporary [[social theory]] that argues for the plasticity of social organizations and their potential to be shaped in new ways. The theory rejects the assumption that laws of change govern the history of human societies and limit human freedom.<ref name= "fn xvii">Unger, Robero Mangabeira, ''False necessity: anti-necessitarian social theory in the service of radical democracy: from Politics, a work in constructive social theory'' (London: Verso, 2004), xvii.</ref> It is a critique of "necessitarian" thought in conventional social theories (like [[liberalism]] or [[Marxism]]) which hold that parts of the social order are necessary or the result of the natural flow of history. The theory rejects the idea that human societies must be organized in a certain way (for example, [[liberal democracy]]) and that human activity will adhere to certain forms (for example if people were only motivated by [[homo economicus|rational self-interest]]).
''False necessity'' uses [[Structuralism|structural analysis]] to understand
==Background==
Modern social theory contains a tension between the realization of human freedom and the necessity of social rules.<ref>This background is drawn from Ian Shapiro,
</ref> [[
These early [[Age of Enlightenment#Important intellectuals|Enlightenment thinkers]] opposed existing religious, aristocratic, and absolutist institutions and organizations as the natural state of the world.
Inspired by [[Immanuel Kant|Kant]]'s thesis of [[Immanuel Kant#
The contemporary theory of false necessity attempts to realize this idea in its entirety, and to escape the limitations of liberal and Marxist theories. It aims to realize social plasticity by decoupling human freedom from any necessary social rules or historical trajectory. The theory recognizes the need for social rules, but also affirms the human potential to transcend them. Humanity need not be constrained by any structure.
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The development of the theory is credited to philosopher and politician [[Roberto Mangabeira Unger]]. His main book on the thesis, ''False Necessity: Anti-necessitarian social theory in the service of radical democracy'', was first published in 1987 by Cambridge University Press, and reissued in 2004 by Verso with a new 124 page introduction, and a new appendix, "Five theses on the relation of religion to politics, illustrated by allusions to Brazilian experience."<ref>Unger, Roberto Mangabeira, ''False necessity: anti-necessitarian social theory in the service of radical democracy: from Politics, a work in constructive social theory,'' second edition (London: Verso, 2004).</ref>
The theory of ''false necessity'' attempts to understand humans and human history without making
Rather than "enabling constraint" or "universal structure", the theory advocates "structure-denying structures"—that is, structures that enable their own dissolution and remaking. Since these structures normally constrain
==Sources of entrapment and emancipation==
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*the survival effect in which there is a fear of disturbance of contemporary arrangements.
Unger points to mass politics as a means to counter oligarchy and group identity.
==
The theory of ''false necessity'' develops the idea that the organization of society is made and can be
At the extreme, the theory of ''false necessity'' criticizes and thus unifies strands of the radical tradition. It frees leftist and liberal ideals from institutional fetishism, and emancipates modernist ideals from structural fetishism. The theory further detaches the radical commitment from utopian claims and provides a theoretical basis for transformative action.<ref>Unger, Roberto Mangabeira, ''Social Theory: Its Situation and its Task, Politics 2'' (New York: Verso, 1987), chapter 7.</ref> That transformative action, Unger believes, does not have to be a complete overhaul or total revolution, but rather is "a piecemeal but cumulative change in the organization of society
==Thinkers and opinions==
Contemporary{{when|date=September 2014}} political thinkers and philosophers have developed and advocated the theory of false necessity. [[Roberto Mangabeira Unger]] has employed the theory in developing social, political, and economic alternatives,<ref>Unger, Roberto Mangabeira. ''Democracy realized: the progressive alternative.'' London: Verso, 1998</ref><ref>Unger, Roberto Mangabeira. ''Free trade reimagined: the world division of labor and the method of economics.'' Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007</ref><ref>Unger, Roberto Mangabeira. ''The future of American progressivism: an initiative for political and economic reform.'' Boston: Beacon Press, 1998</ref><ref>Unger, Roberto Mangabeira. ''The left alternative.'' London: Verso, 2009.</ref> as well as in his political activism and appointments in Brazilian politics.<ref>{{cite web|last=Press|first=Eyal|title=The Passion of Roberto Unger|url=http://linguafranca.mirror.theinfo.org/9903/unger.html|publisher=Lingua Franca|accessdate=4 July 2011|date=March 1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last = Barrionuevo | first = Alexei | title =
==See also==
*[[Determinism]]
*[[Necessitarianism]]▼
*[[Historical determinism]]▼
*[[Formative context]]▼
*[[Negative capability]]▼
*[[Empowered democracy]]
▲*[[Formative context]]
▲*[[Historical determinism]]
▲*[[Necessitarianism]]
▲*[[Negative capability]]
*[[Postanarchism]]
== References ==
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[[Category:Social concepts]]
[[Category:Social theories]]
[[Category:Sociological theories]]
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