Social resourcefulness: From an existential to an existentialist approach?

Abstract

One of the manifestations of emphasising individual agency within sociology is the character of human action in popularity of the category of social resourcefulness. This concept highlights the subjective context of systemic inefficiency. It draws attention to the effective use of available resources and the ability to achieve personal goals despite unfavorable circumstances. This narrative emphasises the tactical nature of individuals’ actions and underscores their resistance. At the same time, such resourcefulness contributes to halting deeper transformations and leads to the petrification of the system. As a result, the system continues to exist in its unmodified – often dysfunctional – form. From this perspective, social resilience and related phenomena result from shifting the burden of various crises onto individuals, which the system fails to address. Resourceful actions thus become a sign of adaptation to dysfunctional conditions.

This paper aims to expand the concept of resourcefulness by including individuals’ efforts to alter the system and redefine selected rules of social life. Achieving this goal requires considering this phenomenon to a group less susceptible to crises – the middle class. The empirical basis used to illustrate the selected theses of this article comes from research conducted within the projects “Everyday life during the pandemic” and “Disrupted routines. Everyday life in energy crisis.”