Localizing theory of communicative action for an analysis of the development and modernity process in Iran

This paper is a theoretical-empirical attempt in which we will try to examine the development status of Iran based on the modified postulates of Habermas’s theory of communicative action. We will also examine the compatibility of this theoretical framework to Iran’s social conditions. The primary findings of this attempt include: first and at the theoretical level, a change in the relationship between on one hand, the dichotomous concepts of rationality and lack of it and, on the other hand, their attribution to the dichotomy of tradition and modern. The second finding relates to the proposition that; a change in life-world in a situation in which tradition is still dominant is possible. The Iranian experience indicates that the belief systems have acted as an indigenous base for the development of communicative action in Iran. These findings indicate that Habermas’s theory of communicative action is capable of being treated as a development theory that can be localized and be used to explain the development process.