Truth and Goodness: Does the Sociology of Inequality Promote Social Betterment?

Abstract

The historical development of sociology is outlined, from (1) close ties with social reform in the early 20th century, to (2) the divorce of sociology from social reform in the 1930s through the 1960s, when the “pure science” model dominated, to (3) the domination of the “unmasking inequality” model since the 1970s. I argue for a “reducing inequality” model. A content analysis of articles on inequality in three leading journals shows a shift in the 1970s to a structuralist perspective linked to unmasking inequality. But research that unmasks inequality still ignores social reform because career advancement depends on following the pure science model. Case studies of 12 sociologists illustrate strategies for combining research with social betterment.