Contributions to the Concept of Mass. Gurvitch's Thought

Abstract

In his analysis on microsociological types, Gurvitch considers the concept of mass as a generic degree of sociability by fusion in «we-ness», together with those of community and communion, although said concept appears as the weakest and most difficult to clarify. To support his particular proposal, our author uses a strong critical revisionism against various theories of the forms of sociability in the sociological tradition. In the same way, he rejects orientations that have dealt with the mass exclusively from a macrosociological point of view, like the vague remarks and confusions that, in his opinion, distinguished thinkers have introduced regarding this matter. Our only objective here is to show some fundamental aspects of this original thought, its meaning for a more integrative vision of social phenomena, especially, the suggestion of his contribution to the notion of mass as sociological category and its possible utility in the most current discourses on postindustrial and postmodern society.