Analysis Of The Disjunction Of Realms By Daniel Bell

Daniel Bell’s “The Disjunction of Realms,” writes about the dichotomy that exists currently between culture and social structure. Bell argues that in out post-industrial society, post-1940/50s, there is no unity between the realms. Previously, culture and social structure were ruled and united through Christianity, which was the belief system of most the population. However, in our modern society, we see a division between behaviors, values, and beliefs in culture and in the social structure.
In the first chapter, Bell defines the terms he consistently uses throughout his work. The man three terms defined by Bell are Economy, Polity, and Cultural. According to Bell, the Economy’s function is rationality and functionality. Polity is the establishment and value of equality, that all individuals hold equal opportunity and rights. Lastly, Culture is ruled by the fulfillment of the self. It is the realm in which individualism dominates. In modern society, our cultural realm holds individuality as its greatest value. According to Bell, “it is the discordances between these realms which are responsible for the various contradictions within society” (Bell 10). Bell addresses the prominent and current discordances between culture and social structure in the rest of his writing.

The disjunction is related back to antinomianism. Antinomianism can be defined as being against the law, order, and structure. The belief of going against the law and order is justification for developing the self. The individual or person must discover themselves openly and without reservation. Bell writes how “in the modern consciousness, there is not a common being, but a self and the concern of this self is with what its individual authenticity” (Bell 19). The individual authenticity is a unique character that is free of