Introduction

The presumption that the contemporary period constitutes a transition to a new phase of modernity has always been present in the work of Habermas and Giddens. However, the changes that commenced in the last decades of the twentieth century compelled revisions in their respective interpretations of the modernist vision of the autonomous constitution of society. In particular, while the collapse of state socialism may have confirmed the core elements of their interpretations of the institutionalization of modernity, it appeared to justify substantial reframings of their perspectives on contemporary capitalist society. Habermas and Giddens consider that the breakdown of state socialism reinforced the critical conclusions that their respective reconstructions and deconstructions of historical materialism drew about the Marxist vision of emancipation. Similarly, they consider that the political changes of this period confirmed their assessments of the limitations of the welfare state from the standpoint of the modernist vision of autonomy.

Habermas and Giddens have consequently sought to contribute major rethinkings of social democracy and to define the immanent potentials for democratization. In the case of Giddens, these considerations are articulated in the political project of The Third Way, which positions itself between the new right and the old left (Giddens 1998; 2000). Habermas discourse theory of law and democracy likewise seeks to delineate a way of overcoming the impasse of welfare state mass democracies (Habermas 1996a). The discourse theory of democracy and law subsequently forms the basis of Habermas's attempt to establish cosmopolitan justice in relation to the ‘postnational constellation’ of globalization (Habermas 2001a). There can be no denying that these practical- political articulations of their respective programmes are of considerable significance and that they address major questions concerning the social conditions of autonomy and justice. At the same time, my analysis highlights limitations intrinsic to Giddens's formulation of The Third Way and Habermas's discourse theory conceptions of law, democracy, morality and justice.

Habermas's theory originally focussed on developments within national societies and he has admitted that his prior lack of engagement with globalizing processes was a major limitation (Habermas 2000). With its emphasis on social reproduction's temporal and spatial characteristics, Giddens's theory was predisposed towards apprehending globalizing processes.