State of Sociology: Society Does Not Fit Into a Bathtub

The debate over the future viability of sociology is intensifying: A rebuttal to Gerhards and Rössel defends the field's methodological diversity against accusations of irrelevance. In the face of the climate crisis and digitalization, rigid models such as the Coleman bathtub often fall short.

State of Sociology: Society Doesn't Fit in a Bathtub

In the current debate regarding the future viability of German sociology, a fundamental dispute over the scope and methods of the field is emerging. The background is the criticism from sociologists Jürgen Gerhards and Jörg Rössel, who accuse the discipline of increasing fragmentation and a lack of relevance in the face of urgent social transformation processes. A recent rebuttal now counters this diagnosis, arguing that the methodological and thematic breadth of sociology is not a sign of weakness, but rather the necessary response to an increasingly complex world. The claim that the field cannot provide answers to burning contemporary questions, it argues, misjudges the productive diversity of the current research landscape.

Criticism of sociology is not new, but it is gaining sharpness due to the global polycrisis. Gerhards and Rössel call for a stronger focus on quantitatively measurable causal relationships and a return to grand, integrating theories. The opposing side, however, argues that modern societies can no longer be squeezed into rigid models. The metaphor of the bathtub, often used for the Coleman model of sociological explanation, falls short. Social phenomena such as digital structural change, the climate crisis, or new forms of identity politics require a broad set of tools that goes beyond classical stratification models. Those who misunderstand diversity as fraying overlook the gains from specialization in subfields such as economic, organizational, or technical sociology.

Scientific Plurality as a Locational Advantage

For young academics and those interested in advanced management studies, this debate is of high relevance. The German-speaking higher education landscape is traditionally characterized by a strong theoretical foundation. While MBA programs are often focused on the pragmatic application of business management tools, sociology provides the necessary reflective knowledge to understand markets and organizations within their social context. The current rebuttal emphasizes that it is precisely the methodological openness of sociology that produces graduates capable of analyzing complex dependencies in global value chains or cultural dynamics in diverse teams.

The dispute also touches upon the core of university education in the social sciences. Narrowing the field to a few methodological standards, as demanded by critics, could diminish the discipline's innovative power. In practice, it is evident that companies and political institutions today are looking less for universal world formulas and more for specific expertise for concrete problems. Sociology provides the data and interpretive patterns for this that go beyond purely economic indicators. Thus, the discipline remains an indispensable supplier for interdisciplinary degree programs that aim to prepare executives for an unstable future.