Social Criticism: Its Concept, Characteristics, and Types

What is known as social criticism came about because constructive behaviors needed someone to shine a light on them, to give them the honor that society bestows upon them, and destructive behaviors needed to be examined closely in order to disprove their origins and come up with solutions. Social criticism entails observing societies and the behavior of their members with a critical eye in order to spot flaws and attempt to address and correct them.

Because social criticism cannot be of any use if it does not find an audience that will listen to it and take on the task of reforming society, literature has taken on the responsibility of conveying social criticism and has become a platform calling for people’s conditions and communicating their complaints to those in authority, so that the solution is reform or revolution.

In this article, we chose to focus on social criticism and its concept, characteristics, and types to highlight its value in identifying problems and putting them on the initial path to a solution.

Social Criticism Concept

The concept of social criticism can be described as the process of analyzing all social components, specifically those that are thought to be shameful for  societies.

Social criticism identifies these components and samples, discusses the issues that they have and the causes that contributed to them, and then identifies groups of solutions and actions that can be taken to correct these flaws and implement radical or revolutionary changes.

Consider the issue of begging, which is one of the social issues addressed by social criticism. Specialists recognize and research this phenomenon in societies where begging is prevalent.

Who are the beggars? What age range do they fall into? Are they young people? Are they primarily male or female? What caused them to stoop to begging, exactly? and other inquiries that help to fully describe the issue. Then, solutions are suggested to get rid of this phenomenon, which is thought to be harmful to society.

Another problem that social criticism has adopted is the rising rate of illiteracy, whose causes and motivations are discussed. Then, in the majority of societies, a radical solution was implemented, enacting compulsory education up to the end of the primary stage, free or nearly free higher education, as well as activating literacy programs and encouraging them.

When did social criticism appear?

The first instances of social criticism date back to the sixteenth century, and the social approach to criticism quickly gained popularity in both the East and West. Perhaps the most prominent Arab critics whose stars shone in the field of social criticism are Louis Awad, Salama Morsi, Alawah Ali, Salah Fadl, Najib Al-Awfi, and many others.

Social Criticism Types

The goal of social criticism dictates some of the trends that divide it into types, and the most prominent types of social criticism are the following:

1. One of the most well-known forms of social criticism is social problems and concerns, which are crucial indicators that are concerned with social criticism.
2. Swinging problems related to society are also one of the types of social criticism that it dealt with in its critical approach, which is also considered a critical indicator.
3. Given that the human being is the fundamental unit of society and that any development, change, or discovery that affects it has an impact on society as a whole, one of the types of social criticism is the type that is focused on closely observing all developments that occur in the human and natural sciences related to the human being.
4. Among the basic types of social criticism are those related to sociology, philosophy, and history.
5. Literature and art are also within the social criticism types, as they fall within the critical approach, and as they are humanitarian products, social criticism pays art and literature a lot of attention.
6. One of the social criticism types is closely related to realism, and this type holds that literature and art are products of society's reality as they are practiced within it and that they come from the author or artist who was raised in that reality and portrays it.
7. Another type of social criticism focuses on normative indicators and theories of psychology.
8. We mention critical trends based on ideological features as one of the standard trends in social criticism.
9. We mention the approach that relies on the free association of psychological effects among the types of social criticism that focus specifically on literary or artistic work.

Social Criticism Characteristics

There are a number of characteristics that define the social approach to criticism, but the following are perhaps the most significant ones:

1. Being the product of the author's environment is one of the characteristics of social criticism that lends credibility and transparency, as they do not observe people's concerns from an elitist perch. Instead, they interact with them, live their conditions, and attend their gatherings, which gives their literary content credibility in presenting and delivering the message. 
2. The author addresses the issues that are unique to their society and their daily concerns, so they do not include external concerns. As a result, the literary production that includes social criticism is generated from the social environment in which the author was raised or from which their literary work was inspired. For instance, an author who lived through feudalism presented a social critique of the idea of injustice in a realistic way, and an author who experienced a revolution did the same with the ideas of oppression and tyranny based on actual societal events. This characteristic of social criticism is the reason for its credibility and honesty in reflecting society.
3. The author's affiliation with a particular party or group is one of the characteristics of social criticism that also lends it credibility, and as a result, the literature that results is like a mirror of reality from that perspective. For instance, if a political dispute arises, society will be split into supporters and opponents, and the literature that results from one side presents the social criticism elicited from a particular side to which the author belongs.
4. The literature that deals with delivering social criticism illuminates the issue that society faces and proposes a solution to it, putting these solutions in the hands of everyone who reads the literature and making society itself the target of the solution.
5. One characteristic of social criticism is that it also includes criticism of the author's text, which expresses their perspective and ideas on how to address societal issues.

Social Criticism in Literature

It might be crude to deliver directly, as there must be a vehicle that conveys this criticism to the segment affected by it in a clear way that enables them to understand it and move forward with applying solutions. This is because the goal of social criticism is to draw attention to flawed phenomena and their solutions. Social criticism found nothing better than literature to carry this trust with confidence and credibility, as the literary author took on the role of the critic and started shedding light on complex societal issues, defining their dimensions, identifying their causes, and presenting in the same context what they believed to be solutions.

Written literature does not only carry the flag of social criticism; art and music also support it. As a result, social criticism can be found in literature and other forms of art today. As we see revolutionary songs illuminate oppression and tyranny and show the way to salvation through blood and revolution, just as we see in books, poems, and artwork.

With the advancement of technology, films, dramas, images, and documentaries entered the field of social criticism and evolved into venues that illuminated the issue and paved the way for a solution. So we encounter literary, artistic, dramatic, and cinematic works that discuss fundamental social problems like poverty, unemployment, class inequality, racial discrimination, violence against women, gender discrimination, child labor, political tyranny, suppression of freedoms, and other societal problems that need to be highlighted as the first step towards reform.

The novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Stowe supported the fight to end slavery in the United States of America; the novel "Ramona" by Helen Hunt Jackson resulted in significant changes to Native American law; and the novel "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair assisted in passing new laws governing food safety and public health. These are just a few examples of literary works that have incorporated social criticism.

Quotations on Social Criticism

The following is a collection of wise words and quotations from famous people and wise men who addressed the subject of social criticism:

1. “Social criticism begins with grammar and the re-establishment of meanings.” Octavio Paz.
2. “When a society decays, it is the language that is first to become gangrenous. As a result, social criticism begins with grammar and the re-establishing of meanings.” Octavio Paz.
3. “The writer's role is to menace the public's conscience. He must have a position and a point of view. He must see the arts as a vehicle of social criticism, and he must focus on the issues of his time.” Rod Serling.

In Conclusion

Social criticism brings to light social problems that obstruct society's growth and development. Literary and artistic works frequently contain social criticism themes, making it simple to define, explain, and suggest solutions. This helps them reach a wide audience, which opens the door for reform and a fix.