Article(print)1997

Sufferings, Theodicies, Disciplinary Practices, Appropriations

In: International social science journal: ISSJ, Volume 49, Issue 154, p. 563-572

Das, Veena

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Abstract

Following Max Weber's (1963) study of theodicy & Clifford Geertz's (1977) contention that religions must determine how to suffer, it is contended that all societies have demonstrated concern with human suffering. Emile Durkheim study of how individual pain functions as the medium through which social authority is maintained & Karl Marx's understanding of human suffering in political economies are discussed in the context of South African apartheid. Characterized by multiple genocides & instances of unwarranted suffering, the 20th century has witnessed the termination of theodicy. A comparison of US veteran health problems caused by exposure to Agent Orange & the Bhopal, India, disaster indicates that bureaucracies & judiciaries have appropriated human suffering; moreover, the media have commodified suffering for consumption by global audiences. Although some social institutions have mandated the production of pain, moral communities have provided assistance & healing to individuals, especially in instances of communal disaster. 26 References. Adapted from the source document.

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