Conceptual Metaphors of the Political Order. Structures, Hierarchies, Agents and the (Im)Possible Transformation
Abstract: The aim of this article is to develop a conceptual model for investigating the problematics of social change through the integration of three theoretical perspectives: social constructivism, conceptual metaphor theory, and critical discourse analysis. A comprehensive theoretical review is conducted, encompassing the work of major philosophical thinkers (M. Foucault, A. Gramsci), scholars contributing to the study of metaphor (G. Lakoff, M. Johnson), and key figures in the methodology of critical discourse analysis (N. Fairclough, R. Wodak, T. A. van Dijk, Z. Kövecses). On this basis, the proposed conceptual model is constructed. The central hypothesis posits that the social order is sustained not only through norms and institutions but also through deeply embedded metaphorical systems that function as its cognitive and ideological infrastructure. The analysis is based on a corpus of selected metaphors referencing Bulgarian political discourse. The findings lead to several principal conclusions. First, conceptual metaphors such as “the state is a body,” “the state is a machine,” “the state is a family,” as well as neoliberal variants (“the state is a firm,” “politics is a market”), serve to naturalize specific power relations and hierarchies by transforming them into “common sense” and “self-evident truths.” Second, these metaphors structure perception and cognition, thereby shaping the rationality of action. Third, insofar as social change constitutes a discursive practice, its realization is significantly constrained when agents operate within the language of the same hegemonic metaphors through which the existing social order is naturalized. Keywords: social constructionism, critical discourse analysis, conceptual metaphor theory, neoliberalism, social change.