ABSTRACT

The implication of Habermas’ argument is that universal human rights are grounded in the existential political conditions for human interrelationships and social order and from those conditions, he maintains that there are certain moral standards of human treatment which all democratic societies should respect. Habermas’ theory of communicative action has both strengths and weaknesses. It aims at addressing the problem of social order and human rights. Although, his theory serves as a leitmotif test for the contemporary Nigerian society, his theory has not been able to grapple with the complexities facing our contemporary societies. Communicative action reflects the linguistic transparency of persons in their day to day activities. Today, our contemporary Nigerian society has been characterized by myriad of socio-political and economic problems. There has been the crises of social system and social structure due to the superimposition of money and power by the Nigerian politicians. The Nigerian leaders have distorted the Nigerian socio-political structures. The Nigerian political climates, market forces, the economic systems and structures have failed woefully due to the monetization of the society and the burecrautization of power in Nigeria. This paper showcases the relevance of communicative action to the Nigerian contemporary society. This paper, therefore, concludes that communicative action reflects the transformational values of human conducts and organizational framework; that there ought to be the need for differences to flourish; that the theory of communicative action has a sustained and continued relevance to other climates like the contemporary Nigerian society and that the theory of communicative action has a moral element.