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The Social Space and the Genesis of «Classes». Constructing a theory ot the social space as a multi-dimensional space of positions presupposes a break with the tendency which leads to over-emphasis of a realist grasp of groups at the expense of relationships ; and with the tendency which inclines one to confuse the theoretical class, a region of this space, with a real, and really mobilized, class. But the sociologist's construction must take account of the spontaneous constructions performed by the agents. Perception of the social world implies an act of construction which is generally carried out practically, below the level of explicit representation, on the basis of a sense of position. Politics can be defined, in terms of this logic, as the struggle to impose a legitimate mode of perception of the social world ; and the State as the agency which possesses the power of legitimate naming, i.e. the power enabling officiai imposition of the legitimate view of the social world. The science which makes it possible to classify (i.e. to distribute in the space of the social) can be the basis of a science of the struggle over classifications, and in particular of the specific logic of the political field, which is linked by a relationship of structural homology to the social field as a whole. Ultimately, it is a question of understanding the alchemy of the construction of groups, particularly those that are usually called classes, which are, as it were, well-founded myths.

Demonstrations : The Production of Political Events. The demonstration on 23 March 1982 by several thousand farmers called out by the Federation nationale des syndicats d'exploitants agricoles and the Centre national des jeunes agriculteurs is a particularly interesting case in bringing to light the major stakes that are present in most demonstrations. These symbolic, theatricalized exhibitions by protest groups which present themselves as representative of whole social categories are principally designed for the press, which transforms these actions into political events. Having analysed the conditions of the symbolic efficacy of the action of public protest, i.e. the social conditions of production of the «journalistic event», the author considers the process of the creation of social collectives which are not so much real groups as genuine metaphysical groups produced by and for politics.

Delegation and Political Fetishism. When the work of delegation whereby a group makes itself by making its spokesman is forgotten and ignored, this fosters and perpetuates the sacerdotal view of politics and the theodicy of the «apparatus». If the institution of the spokesman makes it possible to emerge from serial existence into collective existence, speaking for also implies speaking in place of ; and the «oracle effect» thanks to which the spokesman gives speech to the group in whose name he speaks can also serve to justify the shift from the indicative to the imperative. The mandators and the mandated stand in a relationship of structural homology : the specific interests of the mandated spokesman (in the political space, for example) coincide with the interests of the mandators (in the social space). But one also has to reckon with the fundamental law of bureaucratic apparatuses whereby the apparatus gives everything to those who, owing everything to it and expecting everything from it, are prepared to give it everything and take no liberties with it.

The Myth of the «base». Contrary to the belief that a popular consultation is a one-way movement running from the expression of a pre-existing base of «grass-roots» opinion towards centralized agencies, observation of the Etats Generaux du developpement agricole (set up by the Socialist government in May 1982) leads one to question the very notion of the base : the hypothesis is put forward that this has no autonomous existence outside the social conditions in which the consultation takes place. The EGDA have to be described as a two-fold movement which goes first downwards and then upwards. In the downward phase, problematics and procedures for consultation are imposed ; these are passed down by the regional, departmental and local organizations and reach an audience of farmers selected in accordance with their affinity with the project underlying the EGDA and their relationship to the organizations responsible for agricultural development, which is precisely the subject of the consultation. The second phase, that of the upward movement of synthesis of the written contributions by the farmers, is then described. This may be analysed as a process in which groups of agents, at increasingly high levels in the hierarchy of development organizations, appropriate and then reconstruct the language of the peasants, while respecting the conditions producing the illusion of fidelity to the expression of «grass-roots opinion». This leads to the more general question of the evaluation of texts arising from popular consultations, which ultimately say more about the organizational structures than about what the individuals consulted really think and do.

ger Eine gerechte Sache.ger ger Je weniger eine Gruppe als solche konstituiert ist, umso stàrker tritt der der Formierung der Gruppe immanente voluntaristische Aspekt in den Vordergrund. Dies gilt vor allem dann, wenn es sich dabei um altere Menschen handelt, d.h. um eine Gruppe vergleichsweise bedürftiger und wehrloser Individuen. In diesem Fall richtet sich die Transfigurations- arbeit weniger auf die ? im juristischen Sprach-gebrauch übliche ? Formel der Repräsentativität der Delegierten, als auf die Natur der Interessen, die von jenen stets als zu verteidigende Sache präsentiert werden.