Social reality, criticality, and family business

The relationship between social construction of reality, criticality, and why I am studying family business.

Transcript

1. Social reality, criticality, and family business Rocky Adiguna | rocky.adiguna@uni.lu
2. Among others, one thing is for sure: Human beings will face death
3. The facts are: The (social) world exists before we live—and (hopefully) will continue to exist after we die. And, we live only in a fraction of period in the already established world.
4. As soon as we are born, we inherit this social world. And once we die, we pass on the world to the next generations.
5. What used to be more or less changeable and tentative becomes more fixed and objectified once the new generation enters the social world. Example: When two lovers are living together, they can change almost every aspect of their interactions. But when a child is born between them, the parents’ ways of interaction become the way for the child. For this little fellow, it is just the way it is done.
6. Every generation creates a layer of social reality that is taken for granted for the next generations. One of the products is what we call as ‘institutions’ (think of families, schools, businesses, etc.)
7. As for institutions, Their presence are by default taken for granted. They are there regardless whether we accept them or not. Their presence are coercive. Their power is imposed on us. The simplest way to cope with them is to comply and, again, to take it for granted.
8. Or, one can choose to question their existence But this will not go so far without power to influence the current state of affair
9. Questioning what is taken for granted will make us aware of where we are positioned within the institutions. Only by then, we can see if there is any unnecessary restriction that people experience. Then, if we have the power, to actually alleviate these restrictions.
10. I repeatedly emphasise this ‘taken for granted’-ness since it inhibits critical thinking. It tends to make people accept what is presented to them at face value and overlook what lies beyond. As a consequence, there is no room for deep reflection …
11. Where in fact, the ability to question is what distinct us with animals. Human beings need explanations for everything. Sometimes even as simple as this silencing answer, “It is just the way it is.”
12. However, even though I am against suppression. It is not freedom that I am standing for (though I would be happy to discuss about freedom). Instead, it is more about fairness and the realisation human property of reason (or ‘aql in Arabic).
13. This one is from the dictionary reason [noun]: the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgements logically.
14. So, reason-knowledge-power becomes a chain reaction But not everyone operates in the same level in the social world. Patterns of socialisation affect how people are shifting from reason to power. And yet …
15. ❝[O]nly with the appearance of a new generation can one properly speak of a social world.❞ —Berger and Luckmann, 1967
16. if that is so,
17. Family business settings actually provide us with the completeness of a social world, because it contains: (1) parents as the conceivers of the family institution and (2) the descendants as the receivers that see the institution as given. Family business, by the same token, is also a form of economic institution that carries its own economic logic and raison d'être.
18. This institutional duality presents a complex yet unique reality where social realities are intertwined
19. This is why I am drawn into studying family business -end-
20. Reference: Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (1967). The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. (Original work published 1966)