Contemporary sociological theory and its classical roots the basics pdf

Sociology Paper

Confirming Pages

Contemporary Sociological Theory

and Its Classical Roots The Basics FOURTH EDITION

George Ritzer University of Maryland

Jeffrey Stepnisky Grant MacEwan University

rit26784_fm_i-xii.indd irit26784_fm_i-xii.indd i 7/27/12 10:47 AM7/27/12 10:47 AM

Confirming Pages

CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY AND ITS CLASSICAL ROOTS: THE BASICS, FOURTH EDITION

Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10020. Copyright © 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Previous editions © 2010, 2007, and 2003. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw- Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning.

Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 DOC/DOC 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

ISBN: 978-0-07-802678-2 MHID: 0-07-802678-4

Senior Vice President, Products & Markets: Kurt L. Strand Vice President & Editor-in-Chief: Michael Ryan Vice President, Content Production & Technology Services: Kimberly Meriwether David Executive Director of Development: Lisa Pinto Director: Matthew Busbridge Brand Manager: Patrick Brown Development Editor: Amy Mittelman Marketing Specialist: Alex Schultz Project Manager: Jessica Portz Buyer: Sandy Ludovissy Cover/Interior Designer: Studio Montage, St. Louis, MO. Cover Image: Ingram Publishing Media Project Manager: Sridevi Palani Typeface: 10/12 Palatino Compositor: Laserwords Private Limited Printer: R. R. Donnelley

All credits appearing on page or at the end of the book are considered to be an extension of the copyright page.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ritzer, George. Contemporary sociological theory and its classical roots : the basics / George Ritzer, Jeffrey Stepnisky.—4th ed. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-07-802678-2 (alk. paper) 1. Sociology. 2. Sociology—History. I. Stepnisky, Jeffrey. II. Title. HM586.R58 2013 301—dc23 2012023779

The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a website does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill, and McGraw-Hill does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites.

www.mhhe.com

rit26784_fm_i-xii.indd iirit26784_fm_i-xii.indd ii 7/27/12 10:47 AM7/27/12 10:47 AM

Confirming Pages

iii

Contents

LIST OF BOXES viii

ABOUT THE AUTHORS x

PREFACE xi

1. Introduction to Sociological Theory 1

Creating Sociological Theory 1 Defining Sociological Theory 5 Creating Sociological Theory: A More Realistic View 6

Multicultural Social Theory 7 Overview of the Book 8 Summary 12 Suggested Readings 13

2. Classical Theories I 15

Emile Durkheim: From Mechanical to Organic Solidarity 15 Two Types of Solidarity 15 Changes in Dynamic Density 16 Collective Conscience 17 Law: Repressive and Restitutive 18 Anomie 19

Karl Marx: From Capitalism to Communism 21 Human Potential 23 Alienation 23 Capitalism 25 Communism 30

Max Weber: The Rationalization of Society 30 Social Action 31 Behavior and Action 31 Types of Action 33

rit26784_fm_i-xii.indd iiirit26784_fm_i-xii.indd iii 7/27/12 10:47 AM7/27/12 10:47 AM

Confirming Pages

iv Contents

Types of Rationality 34 The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism 35 Confucianism, Hinduism, and Capitalism 38 Authority Structures and Rationalization 38

Summary 43 Suggested Readings 43

3. Classical Theories II 45

Georg Simmel: The Growing Tragedy of Culture 45 Association 46 Forms and Types 46 Consciousness 47 Group Size 50 Distance and the Stranger 51 Distance and Value 51 Objective and Subjective Culture 52 Division of Labor 53

Thorstein Veblen: Increasing Control of Business over Industry 54 Business 54 Industry 56

George Herbert Mead: Social Behaviorism 57 The Act 58 Gestures 59 Significant Symbols and Language 59 The Self 60 I and Me 64

W.E.B. Du Bois: Race and Racism in Modern Society 65 Race 65 The Veil and Double-Consciousness 67 Economics and Marxism 68

Summary 69 Suggested Readings 70

4. Contemporary Grand Theories I 72

Structural Functionalism 72 The Functional Theory of Stratification and Its Critics 73 Talcott Parsons’s Structural Functionalism 76 Robert Merton’s Structural Functionalism 88

Conflict Theory 93 The Work of Ralf Dahrendorf 95 Authority 96 Groups, Conflict, and Change 98

rit26784_fm_i-xii.indd ivrit26784_fm_i-xii.indd iv 8/6/12 11:37 AM8/6/12 11:37 AM

Confirming Pages

Contents v

General System Theory 99 The Work of Niklas Luhmann 99 System and Environment 100 Autopoiesis 101 Differentiation 102

Summary 105 Suggested Readings 106

5. Contemporary Grand Theories II 108

Neo-Marxian Theory 108 Critical Theory and the Emergence of the Culture Industry 108 Neo-Marxian Spatial Analysis 117

The Civilizing Process 124 Examples of the Civilizing Process 125 Explaining the Changes: Lengthening Dependency Chains 126 A Case Study: Fox Hunting 128

The Colonization of the Lifeworld 129 Lifeworld, System, and Colonization 129 Rationalization of System and Lifeworld 132

The Juggernaut of Modernity 132 The Juggernaut 133 Space and Time 133 Reflexivity 134 Insecurity and Risks 135

Summary 136 Suggested Readings 137

6. Contemporary Theories of Everyday Life 139

Symbolic Interactionism 139 Dramaturgy 143

Dramaturgy 144 Impression Management 150

Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis 152 Defining Ethnomethodology 152 Accounts 153 Some Examples 154 Accomplishing Gender 156

Exchange Theory 157 The Exchange Theory of George Homans 157 Basic Propositions 160

Rational Choice Theory 164 A Skeletal Model 164 Foundations of Social Theory 165

rit26784_fm_i-xii.indd vrit26784_fm_i-xii.indd v 7/27/12 10:47 AM7/27/12 10:47 AM

Confirming Pages

vi Contents

Summary 170 Suggested Readings 171

7. Contemporary Integrative Theories 173

A More Integrated Exchange Theory 173 Exchange Relationships and Networks 174 Power-Dependence 176 A More Integrative Exchange Theory 177

Structuration Theory 177 Elements of Structuration Theory 179

Culture and Agency 182 Habitus and Field 183

Bridging Subjectivism and Objectivism 183 Habitus 185 Field 188

Summary 193 Suggested Readings 193

8. Contemporary Feminist Theories 195 by Patricia Madoo Lengermann and Gillian Niebrugge

The Basic Theoretical Questions 196 The Classical Roots 198 Contemporary Feminist Theories 200

Gender Difference 201 General Feminist Theories of Difference 202 Sociological Theories of Difference 203 Gender Inequality 205 Gender Oppression 211 Structural Oppression 216

Toward a Feminist Sociological Theory 222 Summary 228 Suggested Readings 229

9. Postmodern Grand Theories 231

The Transition from Industrial to Postindustrial Society 231 Increasing Governmentality (and Other Grand Theories) 234

Increasing Governmentality 235 Other Grand Theories 239

Postmodernity as Modernity’s Coming of Age 241 Learning to Live with Ambivalence? 241 Postmodern Ethics 244

rit26784_fm_i-xii.indd virit26784_fm_i-xii.indd vi 7/27/12 10:47 AM7/27/12 10:47 AM

Confirming Pages

Contents vii

The Rise of Consumer Society, Loss of Symbolic Exchange, and Increase in Simulations 246 From Producer to Consumer Society 246 The Loss of Symbolic Exchange and the Increase in Simulations 249

The Consumer Society and the New Means of Consumption 257 Queer Theory: Sex and Sexuality 262

The Heterosexual/Homosexual Binary 263 Performing Sex 265

Summary 268 Suggested Readings 269

10. Globalization Theory 271

Major Contemporary Theorists on Globalization 275 Anthony Giddens on the “Runaway World” of Globalization 275 Ulrich Beck and the Politics of Globalization 277 Zygmunt Bauman on the Human Consequences of Globalization 279

Cultural Theory 280 Cultural Differentialism 280 Cultural Convergence 284 Cultural Hybridization 290

Economic Theory 293 Neo-Liberalism 293 Critiquing Neo-Liberalism 297 Neo-Marxian Theoretical Alternatives to Neo-Liberalism 301 Transnational Capitalism 301

Political Theory 307 Summary 310 Suggested Readings 311

GLOSSARY 313

PERMISSION AND SOURCE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 332

INDEX 334

rit26784_fm_i-xii.indd viirit26784_fm_i-xii.indd vii 7/27/12 10:47 AM7/27/12 10:47 AM

Confirming Pages

viii

List of Boxes

Biographical/Autobiographical Vignettes

Alexis de Tocqueville 4 Emile Durkheim 17 Karl Marx 26 Max Weber 32 Georg Simmel 47 Thorstein Veblen 56 George Herbert Mead 61 W. E. B. Du Bois 67 Talcott Parsons 87 Robert K. Merton 90 C. Wright Mills 94 Ralf Dahrendorf 96 Niklas Luhmann 102 Herbert Marcuse 112 Norbert Elias 126 Jürgen Habermas 130 Anthony Giddens 134 Erving Goffman 150 Harold Garfinkel 154 George Caspar Homans 159 James S. Coleman 166 Richard Emerson 175 Pierre Bourdieu 184 Harriet Martineau 198 Jessie Bernard 209 Patricia Hill Collins 220 Dorothy E. Smith 226 Michel Foucault 239 Jean Baudrillard 256

Zygmunt Bauman 278 George Ritzer 287

Key Concepts Social Facts 20 Anomic (and Other Types of) Suicide 22 Exploitation 27 Verstehen 36 The Ideal Type and the Ideal-Typical

Bureaucracy 40 Secrecy 48 Space 52 Conspicuous Consumption

and Conspicuous Leisure 55 Definition of the Situation 62 Critical Theories of Race and Racism 66 Social Structure and Anomie 92 The Functions of Social Conflict 98 Knowledge Industry 115 The Modern World-System 123 Figurations 127 Ideal Speech Situation 131 Risk Society 135 The Conceptual Contributions of Charles

Horton Cooley 141 Role Distance 146 Stigma 149 Reflexive Sociology 187 Standpoint 223 Postmodern Sociology; Sociology of

Postmodernity 242

rit26784_fm_i-xii.indd viiirit26784_fm_i-xii.indd viii 7/27/12 10:47 AM7/27/12 10:47 AM

Confirming Pages

List of Boxes ix

The Prosumer and Prosumption 254 Phantasmagoria and Dream Worlds 260 Globalization 273 Civil Society 275 Orientalism 283

Contemporary Applications Does Marx’s Theory Have Any Relevance to a

Post-Communist World? 28 Have We Become Obsessed with the Self? 63 Is the “War on Terror” Functional? 104 The Occupy Movement and Neo-Marxian

Spatial Analysis 118

Antidepressants: A Symbolic Interactionist View 142

September 11, 2001, and the Stigmatization of Muslims 151

The “Field” of American Higher Education Today 192

Some Marriage Stats 227 The Death of Consumer Culture? If So,

What Next? 250 The Bathroom Problem 267 Is Global Neo-Liberal Capitalism Dead? 299 The Great Global Economic Meltdown of

2008 306

rit26784_fm_i-xii.indd ixrit26784_fm_i-xii.indd ix 7/27/12 10:47 AM7/27/12 10:47 AM

Confirming Pages

x

About the Authors

GEORGE RITZER is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland. Among his awards are an Honorary Doctorate from La Trobe University, Australia, the American Sociological Association’s Distinguished Contribution to Teaching Award, and the 2013–2014 Robin Williams Lecture- ship by the Eastern Sociological Association. He has chaired the American Sociological Association’s Sections on Theoretical Sociology, Organizations and Occupations, Global and Transnational Sociology and the History of Sociology. His other McGraw-Hill textbooks include Classical Sociological Theory and Sociological Theory. Among his books in metatheory are Sociology: A Multiple Paradigm Science and Metatheorizing in Sociology. In the application of social theory to the social world, his books include The McDonaldization of Society, Enchanting a Disenchanted World, and The Globalization of Nothing. Sage has published two volumes of his collected works, one in theory and the other in the application of theory to the social world, especially consumption. In the latter area, he was founding editor of the Journal of Consumer Culture. He co-edited the Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Major Social Theorists with Jeff Stepnisky and the Handbook of Social Theory with Barry Smart. He has edited the two-volume Encyclopedia of Social Theory, the eleven-volume Encyclopedia of Sociology, and the five-volume Encyclopedia of Globalization. His books have been translated into over 20 languages, with over a dozen translations of The McDonaldization of Society which in 2014 will be published in its 20th anniversary edition.

JEFFREY STEPNISKY is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where he teaches classical and contem- porary social theory. He has published in the area of social theory, especially as it relates to questions of subjectivity. This includes a series of papers on the topic of antidepressant medications and contemporary selfhood. He has co-edited the Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Major Social Theorists, with George Ritzer, and served as the managing editor for The Encyclopedia of Social Theory and the Journal of Consumer Culture.

rit26784_fm_i-xii.indd xrit26784_fm_i-xii.indd x 7/27/12 10:47 AM7/27/12 10:47 AM

Confirming Pages

xi

Preface

Compared to the third edition of this book, the fundamental structure of the fourth edition is unchanged. However, a number of substantial changes have been made within that overall structure and, of course, many more minor changes have been made throughout the text. The following are the changes made in this edition:

• In Chapter 3 a new section on the classical theorist W.E.B. Du Bois, focusing on the analysis of race and racism, has been added.

• In Chapter 4, the section on General Systems Theory has been re- written and shortened to provide a more accessible version of Niklas Luhmann’s main theoretical concepts.

• In Chapter 5, the section on Henri Lefebvre has been re-written and shortened to provide a more accessible version of the theory.

• In Chapter 9 a new section on Queer Theory, which focuses on the contemporary construction of sexuality, has been added (it replaces the sections on “dromology” and “feminism and postmodern theory”).

• The Biographical Vignette on Pierre Bourdieu (Chapter 7) has been re- written to include material from Bourdieu’s autobiography. To make room for new material the Robert E. Park vignette has been removed (Chapter 6).

• Additions to the Key Concepts are Critical Theories of Race and Racism (Chapter 3) and Orientalism (Chapter 10).

• The new Contemporary Applications are The Occupy Movement and Neo-Marxian Spatial Analysis (Chapter 5), Antidepressants: A Sym- bolic Interactionist View (Chapter 6), Some Marriage Stats (Chapter 8), and The Bathroom Problem (Chapter 9). Two applications have been removed to make room for these: From Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 (Chapter 5) and Domestic Violence (Chapter 8).

• Smaller changes to the text include updated key words and glossary entries, changes to the references at the end of each chapter, and a num- ber of clarifications and additions to the writing throughout.

rit26784_fm_i-xii.indd xirit26784_fm_i-xii.indd xi 7/27/12 10:47 AM7/27/12 10:47 AM

Confirming Pages

xii Preface

Supplementary Material

Available to instructors only, this text is accompanied by an online Instructors’ Manual which includes chapter outlines, chapter summaries, student exercises and discussion topics. Visit this site at http://mhhe.com/ritzer4e.

Acknowledgments We would like to thank Patricia Lengermann and Gillian Niebrugge for revis- ing the material on feminist theory and, more generally, for their long- term and continuing support for this book. At McGraw-Hill we would like to thank our editor Craig Leonard for his help in bringing this version of the book to completion.

We would also like to thank the reviewers of this edition for their com- ments and suggestions:

Thomas Dailey, Columbus State University

Daniel Egan, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Morten Ender, West Point Military Academy

Kim MacInnis, Bridgewater State University

John Bartkowski, University of Texas at San Antonio

Bradley Jay Buchner, Cheyney University of PA

Nena Sechler Craven, Delaware State University

M. Arif Ghayur, Iowa Wesleyan College

rit26784_fm_i-xii.indd xiirit26784_fm_i-xii.indd xii 7/27/12 10:47 AM7/27/12 10:47 AM

Confirming Pages

1

C H A P T E R 1

Introduction to Sociological Theory

Creating Sociological Theory Defining Sociological Theory Creating Sociological Theory: A More Realistic View Overview of the Book Summary Suggested Readings

E veryone theorizes about the social world (and many other things—natural events, supernatural possibilities) virtually all of the time. Most generally this means that people think about, speculate on, some social issue. We might think about our parents’ relationship to one another or speculate about the chances that our favorite team will win the league championship or whether China will go to war with Taiwan. On the basis of such speculation we are likely to develop theo- ries about our parents (e.g., they get along so well because they have similar per- sonalities), our team (they will not win the league championship because they lack teamwork), or the possibility of war (China will not go to war because war would threaten China’s recent economic advances). These theories deal with social reali- ties and social relationships—for example, the personalities of our parents and how those personalities affect the way they relate to one another; teamwork and the ability to win a championship; the nature of China, and its relationship to other nations, in an era in which the global economy is increasingly tightly intertwined.

CREATING SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY

Social theorists, including those to be discussed in this book, do much the same kind of thing—they speculate, they develop theories, and their theories deal with social realities and social relationships. Of course, there are important dif- ferences between everyday theorizing and that of social theorists:

1. Social thinkers usually theorize in a more disciplined and self-conscious manner than do people on an everyday basis.

rit26784_ch01_001-014.indd 1rit26784_ch01_001-014.indd 1 13/07/12 6:03 PM13/07/12 6:03 PM

Confirming Pages

2 CHAPTER ONE

2. Social thinkers usually do their theorizing on the basis of the work of social thinkers who have come before them. Thus, virtually all social theorists have carefully studied the work of their forebears, while most laypeople operate largely, if not totally, on their own. To paraphrase Isaac Newton, and, more recently, the sociologist Robert Merton, if social theorists have developed better theories, it is because they have been able to build upon the ideas of those thinkers who came before them.

3. In addition, social theorists also often rely on data, either gathered by themselves or collected by others, on the social realities or relationships of interest to them. Laypeople may have some data at their disposal when they theorize, but these data are likely to be far less extensive and to be col- lected much less systematically.

4. Unlike laypeople, social theorists seek to publish their theories (major examples of such writings will be examined in this book) so that they can be critically analyzed, more widely disseminated, used as a basis for empirical research, and built upon by later theorists. The rigors of the review process help ensure that weak theories are weeded out before they are published or receive scant attention if they do manage to be published.

5. Most importantly, social theorists do not, at least professionally, think about specific relationships involving their parents, their favorite team, or even a particular nation. Social theorists generally think in a more inclusive man- ner about very broad social issues, whereas the layperson is much more likely to speculate about much narrower, even very personal, issues. Thus, in terms of the three examples already mentioned, although a layperson is likely to speculate about the relationship between her parents, the social theorist thinks about the more general issue of, for example, the changing nature of spousal relations in the early 21st century. Similarly, the layperson who thinks about the chances of success of her favorite team contrasts with the social theorist who might be concerned with such issues as the unfair- ness of competition between sports teams in the era of large salaries and budgets. Finally, rather than theorizing about China, a social theorist might think about the contemporary nation-state in the era of global capitalism (see Chapter 10).

Although social theorists think in general terms, this is not to say that the issues of concern to them are only of academic interest. In fact, the issues that are chosen are often of great personal interest to the theorists (and many others) and are frequently derived from issues of great import in their personal lives. Thus, the stresses and strains in their parents’ marriage, or even in their own, might lead sociologists to theorize about the general issue of the modern family and the difficulties that abound within it. The best sociological theories often stem from deep personal interests of theorists.

However, this poses an immediate dilemma. If the best theory stems from powerful personal interests, isn’t it likely that such theory is likely to be biased and distorted by those interests and personal experiences? The bad experiences

rit26784_ch01_001-014.indd 2rit26784_ch01_001-014.indd 2 13/07/12 6:03 PM13/07/12 6:03 PM

Confirming Pages

Introduction to Sociological Theory 3

that a theorist might have had as a child in her own home, or her own marital problems, might bias her against the nuclear family and give her a distorted view of it. This, in turn, might lead her in the direction of a theory critical of such a family. This is certainly possible, even likely, but theorists must and usually do manage to keep their personal biases in check. Yet bias is an ever- present danger that both theorists and those who read theory must keep in the forefront of their thinking.

Balancing this is the fact that feeling strongly about an issue is a powerful motivator. Sociologists with strong feelings about the family (or any other topic in sociology) are likely to do sustained work on it and to feel driven to come up with theoretical insights into the issue. As long as biases are kept in check, strong personal feelings often lead to the very best in social theory. For exam- ple, in this volume we will have a number of occasions to mention Karl Marx (1818–1883) and his pioneering work on capitalism (see Chapter 2). In many ways, Marx’s theory of capitalism is one of the very best in the history of social theory, and it was motivated by Marx’s strong feelings about it and the plight of the workers in it. It is true that these feelings may have blinded Marx to some of the strengths of the capitalist system, but that is counterbalanced by the fact that these feelings led to a powerful theory of the dynamics of capitalism.

One can theorize about any aspect of the social world with the result that social theorists have speculated about things we would expect them to think about (politics, the family), as well as others that we might find quite surpris- ing (e.g., one of the authors of this textbook, George Ritzer, has done work on things like fast-food restaurants, credit cards, and shopping malls). Every aspect of the social world, from the most exalted to the most mundane, can be the sub- ject of social theory. Various social theorists find different aspects of the social world important and interesting, and it is in those areas that they are likely to devote their attention. Some might find the behavior of kings and presidents interesting, while others might be drawn to that of panhandlers and prostitutes. Furthermore, still others, often some of the best social theorists, are drawn to the relationship between highly exalted and highly debased behavior. For example, Norbert Elias (1897–1990) was concerned with the relationship (in the period between the 13th and the 19th centuries) between such mundane behaviors as picking one’s nose at the dinner table, blowing one’s nose, expelling wind, and changes in the king’s court (see Chapter 5). In terms of mundane behaviors, he found that over time people grew less and less likely to pick their noses at the table, to stare at one’s handkerchief and the results of blowing one’s nose, and to noisily and publicly expel wind. This is linked to changes in the king’s court that were eventually disseminated to the rest of society. Basically, the members of the king’s court became dependent on a wider and wider circle of people, with the result that they became more sensitive about the impact of at least some of their behaviors (e.g., violence against others) and more circumspect about them. Eventually, these wider circles of dependence, this greater sensitivity and circumspection, made their way to the lower reaches of society, and the kinds of everyday behaviors discussed above were greatly affected by them. To put it

rit26784_ch01_001-014.indd 3rit26784_ch01_001-014.indd 3 13/07/12 6:03 PM13/07/12 6:03 PM

Confirming Pages

4 CHAPTER ONE

baldly, people generally stopped (the exceptions are now quite notable) picking their noses at the dinner table or noisily expelling wind in public.

Social thinkers may focus on particular behaviors because they find them important and interesting, but they also may do so because it provides them with a point of entry into the social world. This idea is based on the perspective of Georg Simmel (1858–1918) that the social world is composed of an endless series of social relationships (see Chapter 3). Each social act, in this view, is part of a social relationship and each of those relationships, in turn, is ultimately related to every other social relationship. Thus, any given act or relationship can serve as a way of gaining a sense of the entirety of the social world, even the essential aspects and meanings of that world. Thus, Simmel chose money and relationships based on money as a specific way of gaining insight into the entirety of modern society.

Although there is a great gap between the theories to be discussed in this book and the theories we all create every day, the point is that there is no essen- tial difference between professional and lay theorizing. If, after you read this

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) A Biographical Vignette

There are several ironies associated with the work of Alexis de Tocqueville. First, he was a French scholar, but his best-known work deals with America. Second, he was an aristocrat, but he is famous for his work on democracy. Third, he is most often thought of as a political scientist, but he made very

important contributions to sociology and sociological theory (see, for example, the discussion of “civil society” in Chapter 10). It is Volume One of Democracy in America (published in 1835) that is his best-known work, but it was largely politi- cal in nature. It dealt with the American political system and how it compared to others, particularly the French political system. The second volume of that work (published in 1840) is less well-known and was less well-received, but it is far more sociological. Among other things, it deals broadly with culture, social class, “indi- vidualism” (he is often credited with having invented the term, now very popular in sociological theory), and social change.

Fourth, by the time of his later work on the French Revolution, The Old Regime and the French Revolution (published in 1856), Tocqueville had grown nostalgic for the aristocratic system (he wrote of the “catastrophic downfall of the monarchy”) and increasingly critical of democracy and socialism. Both were seen by him as involving far too much centralization of decision-making. He felt that in his younger years aristocrats were freer and made more independent decisions. Such aristocrats served as a counter-balance to the power of centralized government. In spite of this, Tocqueville was enough of a realist to realize that there was no going back to an aristocratic system. Rather, he argued for the need for various “associations of plain citizens” to form bodies that would serve to counter the power of centralized gov- ernment and protect freedom. These associations are very close to what we now think of as civil society.

rit26784_ch01_001-014.indd 4rit26784_ch01_001-014.indd 4 13/07/12 6:03 PM13/07/12 6:03 PM

Confirming Pages

Introduction to Sociological Theory 5

book, you study previous theorizing and then theorize in a more systematic and sustained manner about general social issues, you would be a social theo- rist. Of course, being a social theorist does not necessarily yield high-quality theories. Your first efforts are not likely to be as good as the theories discussed in this book. In fact, the theories to be discussed in the following pages are the best of the best; and the work of many social theorists, some of them quite well known in their time, will not be discussed here because their theories have not stood the test of time well and are no longer considered important social theo- ries. Thus, many have tried, but only a few have succeeded in creating the high quality and important theories to be discussed in this book.

DEFINING SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY

Standing the test of time is one characteristic of theories to be discussed in this book. Another is that they have a wide range of applicability. For example, they do not simply explain behavior in your family, but in a large number of similar families in the United States and perhaps even in other nations around the world. Still another is that the theories deal with centrally important social issues. Thus, the issue of globalization (see Chapter 10) and the global econ- omy is defined by many as a key issue today and, as a result, has attracted the attention of many social theorists. Finally, the theories to be discussed in this book were created either by sociologists or by those in other fields whose work has come to be defined as important by sociologists. For example, we will devote a great deal of attention to feminist sociological theory in this book, but although some feminist theorists are sociologists (e.g., Dorothy Smith, Patricia Hill Collins), the vast majority are social thinkers from a wide variety of other fields. Whether or not theories were created by sociologists, the theories to be discussed here have been built upon by others who have refined them, expanded on them, or tested some of their basic premises in empirical research.

A more formal definition of sociological theory is a set of interrelated ideas that allows for the systematization of knowledge of the social world, the expla- nation of that world, and predictions about the future of the social world. While some of the theories to be discussed in these pages meet all of these criteria to a high degree, many others fall short on one or more of them. Nonetheless, they are all considered full-fledged sociological theories for purposes of this discus- sion. Whether or not they meet all the criteria, all the theories to be discussed here are considered by large numbers of sociologists (as well as those in many other fields) to be important theories. Perhaps most importantly, all of these are big ideas about issues and topics of concern to everyone in the social world.

sociological theory A set of interrelated ideas that allow for the systematization of knowledge of the social world, the explanation of that world, and predictions about the future of the social world.

rit26784_ch01_001-014.indd 5rit26784_ch01_001-014.indd 5 13/07/12 6:03 PM13/07/12 6:03 PM

Confirming Pages

6 CHAPTER ONE

CREATING SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY: A MORE REALISTIC VIEW

Up to this point in this chapter, we have offered an idealized picture of socio- logical theory and the way it is created. In recent years a number of sociologi- cal theorists have grown increasingly critical of this image and have sought to create a more accurate picture of theory and theory creation. They point out that at least some theorists are quite undisciplined (if not downright casual); they don’t always study the work of their predecessors in detail; they aren’t always so careful about collecting data that bear on their theories; their work is not always reviewed rigorously prior to publication; they allow their per- sonal experiences to distort their theories; and so on. Overall, the point is made that the creation of sociological theory is far from the perfect process described previously.

In addition to critiquing the work of individual theorists, the critics have also attacked the general state of sociological theory. In the past, like many other academic disciplines, sociological theory has been organized around a series of canonical texts. This sociological canon is made up of those theories, ideas, and books that are considered to be the most important in the field of sociology. This said, critics have pointed out that the canon is not necessarily a neutral or unbiased creation. It has favored some kinds of social theory over others. Thus, the critics have made the point that the best theories are not neces- sarily the ones that survive, become influential, and are covered in books like this one. They contend that sociological theory is not unlike the rest of the social world—it is affected by a wide range of political factors. What does and does not come to be seen as important theory (as part of the canon) is the result of a series of political processes:

1. The work of those who studied with the acknowledged masters of socio- logical theory, people (historically, men) who came to occupy leadership positions within the discipline, is likely to be seen as more important than the work of those who lacked notable and powerful mentors.

2. Works reflecting some political orientations are more likely to become part of the canon than those done from other perspectives. Thus, in the not- too-distant past in sociology, politically conservative theories (e.g., struc- tural functionalism; see Chapter 4) were more likely to win acceptance than those that were radical from a political point of view (e.g., various theories done from a Marxian perspective; see, especially, Chapter 5).

3. Theories that lead to clear hypotheses that can be tested empirically are more likely to be accepted, at least by mainstream sociologists, than those that produce grand, untestable points of view.

sociological canon The set of theorists, theories, ideas, and texts that, at least in the past, have been considered the most important in the field of sociology. Over the last 30 years critics have argued that the canon is not a neutral construction but is affected by political factors.

rit26784_ch01_001-014.indd 6rit26784_ch01_001-014.indd 6 13/07/12 6:03 PM13/07/12 6:03 PM

Confirming Pages

Introduction to Sociological Theory 7

4. Theories produced by majority group members (i.e., white males) are more likely to become part of the canon than those created by minorities. Thus, the works of black theoreticians have been highly unlikely to become part of the canon (for one exception, see the discussion of Du Bois in Chapter 3). The same is true, at least until recently, of the work of female theorists (see Chapter 8). The theoretical ideas of those associated with cultural minori- ties (e.g., Chicanos, homosexuals) have encountered a similar fate.

Thus sociological theory has not, in fact, always operated in anything approaching the ideal manner that was described earlier in this chapter. How- ever, in recent decades there has been growing awareness of the gap between the ideal and the real. As a result, a number of perspectives that were denied entry into the heart of sociological theory have come, in recent years, to attain a central position within the field. Thus, Marx’s theory (see Chapter 2) and a variety of neo-Marxian theories (Chapter 5) have become part of the canon. Similarly, feminist theory has become a powerful presence in sociological the- ory, reflected by the fact that it is not only the subject of Chapter 8, but it is also dealt with elsewhere in this book. Thus, contemporary sociological theory is now characterized by a great mix of theories, some of which fit the ideal model and others that are the product of the less idealistic, more realistic model of the way theory works. That is, those who support previously excluded theo- ries have flexed their muscles and used their power within sociological theory to enhance the position of their perspectives. These upstarts now share cen- ter stage in sociological theory with more mainstream theories that have long occupied that position.

In order to give more substance to this discussion, in the following section we discuss a number of theories that can broadly be discussed under the head- ing of multicultural social theory. Multicultural social theory tends to focus on perspectives that highlight the experiences of people who are not represented in mainstream political, cultural, and academic arenas. This focus on exclusion and difference leads to the creation of social theories that are quite distinct from those that have traditionally formed the sociological canon. As we will see, at least some of these theories are on their way to becoming, or have already become, part of the canon.

Multicultural Social Theory

The rise of multicultural social theory was foreshadowed by the emergence of contemporary feminist sociological theory in the 1970s. Feminists complained that sociological theory had been largely closed to women’s voices; in the ensu- ing years, many minority groups echoed the feminists’ complaints. In fact, as discussed in Chapter 8, minority women (for example, African Americans and

multicultural social theory Multicultural social theory focuses on perspectives that highlight the experiences of people who are not represented in mainstream politi- cal, cultural, and academic arenas.

rit26784_ch01_001-014.indd 7rit26784_ch01_001-014.indd 7 13/07/12 6:03 PM13/07/12 6:03 PM

Confirming Pages

8 CHAPTER ONE

Latinas) began to complain that feminist theory was restricted to white middle- class females and had to be more receptive to many other voices. Today, femi- nist theory has become far more diverse, as has sociological theory.