An Interview with Peter L. Berger: Chamber Music at a Rock Concert

Abstract

In this interview, Peter Berger, co-author of The Social Construction of Reality, reflects on the making and reception of the book half a century after its first publication. It begins with Berger describing the plans he had with Thomas Luckmann for ultimately unwritten sections of the book and the unfulfilled project of a second book co-authored by them. He answers some questions on the intended meaning of the concept construction, on the intellectual and extra-theoretical elements that influenced the book, and on the connections between his sociology of knowledge and his later work on religion and economic development. The interview moves on to explore Berger’s current work in the development of a ‘theory of pluralism.’ Finally, Berger ponders on his long-lasting but tense relationship with the discipline of sociology.