Conclusion

Theory: A general, abstract explanation


Causal relations
Causal mechanisms

The Problem of Social Order


Coordination
Cooperation

Five theoretical approaches to social order





Individuals
Hierarchies
Markets
Groups
Networks

Each approach has

Different causal relations


In particular, different causal factors
Different mechanisms



EG Individuals theories emphasizes situational
mechanisms
EG Markets theories emphasizes transformational
mechanisms
Including different assumptions about actors


EG people are prosocial (value rational) (as in
Individual theories)
EG people are self-interested (instrumentally rational)

While each individual theory may be
slightly different, for each approach one
can identify



General assumptions/mechanisms
Causal factors
Questions left unanswered
Solution
Causal
Factors
Key Issues
Mechanisms
Individuals
Marx
Durkheim
Fleck
Mead
Cohen and
Vandello
Shared
meaning
How are
shared
meanings
produced?
S: Social and physical
environment affects
meaning.
B: Shared meaning
leads to individuals
coordinating their
behavior.
T: Coordinated
individual behaviors
aggregate to produce
social order.
Remaining
Questions
Why do people behave in
ways counter to their
individual interests? How
do meaning and interests
intersect to affect action?
People may share
meanings, but does this
mean they will act in a
prosocial manner?
Under what conditions is
coordination
cooperative?
Solution
Causal
Factors
Key Issues
Mechanisms
Remaining Questions
Hierarchy
Hobbes
Engels
Weber
Willis
Central
Authority
How does a
central
authority
emerge?
S: Social structure leads to
conflicts of interest
B: Conflicts of interest lead to
demand for government
T: Demand for government
leads to formation of
government.
S: Government increases the
negative consequences of
anti-social behavior and/or
tries to instill a sense of its
legitimacy
Why do self-interested individuals
agree to government control?
What
makes it
effective?
B: These costs and a sense of
legitimacy discourage
individual deviance and
encourage prosocial behavior
T: Cooperative individual
behaviors aggregate to
produce social order
How are the resources necessary
to exercise control provided? Are
there sufficient resources? Under
what conditions are governments
successful at instilling a sense of
legitimacy?
Under what conditions are costs
and legitimacy sufficient to induce
self-interested individuals to
change their behaviors in
accordance with government
demands?
Solutions
Causal
Factors
Key Issues
Mechanisms
Remaining Questions
Markets
Hayek
Schelling
Smith
Axelrod
Zimmer
Inter dependence
Can unregulated
individuals
produce an
orderly
society?
S: Interdependence leads to
interest in interacting
cooperatively
B: This interest leads
individuals to behave
cooperatively
T: Interactions between
individuals lead to macrolevel patterns of behavior
Under what conditions do
individual action and
interaction lead to chaos,
coordination, and/or
cooperation?
Approach
Causal
Factors
Key Issues
Mechanisms
Remaining Questions
Groups
Goffman
Freud
Durkheim
Tocqueville
Hechter
Coleman
Horne
Centola,
Willer & Macy
Hechter,
Friedman, &
Kanazawa
Ties
within
groups
How do
groups
influence the
behavior of
members?
S/B: A group controls its
members through values and
norms.
T: Individual prosocial behavior
aggregates to produce social
order at the group level.
What determines if values
and norms are prosocial or
antisocial?
How can
groups be
influenced by
the larger
society?
S/B: The state punishes antisocial groups or rewards
prosocial groups.
T: Group prosocial behavior
aggregates to produce social
order at the societal level.
What is the relation between
values, norms, and law?
Approach
Causal
Factors
Key Issues
Mechanisms
Remaining Questions
Networks
Gellner
Gluckman
Simmel
Granovetter
Varshney
Group
solidarity
and
structure
of network
ties
How do
groups
influence the
behavior of
members?
S/B: A group controls members
through values and norms (see
mechanisms for values and
norms)
What determines if these
values and norms are
prosocial or antisocial?
How can
groups be
influenced by
the larger
society?
S/B: The state punishes
antisocial groups or rewards
prosocial groups (see
mechanisms for power and
authority)
T: Group prosocial behavior
aggregates to produce social
order
OR
S: Network ties affect individual
information, perceptions,
values, etc.
B: These internal states affect
individual propensity to go
along
T: Individual action aggregates
to produce order
What is the relation between
values, norms and law?
What is the optimal mix of
horizontal and vertical ties?
Why does all this matter?

Policy implications

Each approach has different implications for
public policy



Should we privatize and let the market dictate
what happens?
Should we use government power and resources?
Should we harness the power of groups and
networks?

Research

Your life