Contents
Preface
1.  Metatheory:  Explanation  in Social  Science
Explanation of the Behavior of Social Systems  2
Components of the Theory  11
Conceptions of the Relations between Micro and Macro
Levels  21
Part I  /  Elementary Actions  and Relations
2.  Actors  and  Resources,  Interest  and  Control
The Elements  28
Structures of Action  34
Social Exchange  37
Simple and Complex Relations  43
3.  Rights  to Act
What Are Rights?  49
How the Free-Rider Problem Is Reduced for Rights  53
How Does New Information Bring About a Change in the
Allocation of Rights?  54
How Does a Right Change Hands?  57
Who Are the Relevant Others?  58
How Are Rights Partitioned, and How Might They Be?  59
4.  Authority  Relations
The Right to Control One’s Own Actions  67
Vesting of Authority  69
Conjoint and Disjoint Authority Relations  72
Transfer of One Right or Two:  Simple and Complex Authority
Relations  81
Limitations on Authority  82
Slavery  86
Authority without Intentional Exercise  885.  Relations  of Trust  91
The Placement of Trust  97
Actions of the Trustee  108
Multiple Trustors and  Public-Goods Problems  115
Part II  /  Structures  of Action
6.  Systems  of Social  Exchange  119
What Is  Money?  119
Media of Exchange in  Social and Political  Systems  124
Exchanges within  Systems  131
7.  From  Authority  Relations  to  Authority  Systems  145
The  Law of Agency  146
Sympathy and  Identification:  Affine  Agents  157
Simple  and  Complex  Authority  Structures  162
The  Internal  Morality of an Authority  System  172
8.  Systems  of Trust  and  Their Dynamic  Properties  175
Mutual Trust  177
Intermediaries  in Trust  180
Third-Party Trust  186
Large  Systems  Involving Trust  188
9.  Collective  Behavior  197
General  Properties of Collective  Behavior  198
Escape  Panics  203
Bank and  Stock Market  Panics  215
Acquisitive Crazes  218
Contagious  Beliefs  219
Hostile and  Expressive Crowds  220
Fads and  Fashions  230
Influence Processes  in  Purchasing Decisions,  Voting,  and
Public  Opinion  237
Specific Predictions  about Collective  Behavior  239
10.  The  Demand  for  Effective  Norms  241
Examples of Norms and  Sanctions  245
Distinctions among Norms  246
The  First Condition:  Externalities of Actions and the  Demand
for a Norm  249
What Constitutes  Social  Efficiency?  260
Systems of Norms  26511.  The  Realization  of Effective  Norms  266
An Action-Rights Bank  267
Social Relationships in Support of Sanctions  269
Free Riding and Zeal  273
Heroic versus Incremental Sanctioning  278
How Are Sanctions Applied in Society?  282
Emergence of Norms about Voting  289
Internalization of Norms  292
12.  Social  Capital  300
Human Capital and Social Capital  304
Forms of Social Capital  304
Relative Quantities of Social Capital  313
The Public-Good Aspect of Social Capital  315
The Creation, Maintenance, and Destruction
of Social Capital  318
Part III  /  Corporate Action
13.  Constitutions  and  the  Construction  of Corporate  Actors  325
Norms and Constitutions  325
Positive Social Theory  344
Change in a Disjoint Constitution:  American High Schools  349
An Optimal Constitution  352
Who Are the Elementary Actors?  367
14.  The  Problem of Social  Choice  371
Partitioning of Rights to Indivisible Goods  371
Constitutional Issues in Partitioning Rights to Control
Corporate Actions  374
Intellectual Puzzles concerning Social  Choice  376
Emergent Processes and Institutions for Social Choice  381
Ethical Theory:  How to Determine the Right Action  384
Executive Decision Making  387
Community Decision Making and Conflict  390
Characteristics of Noninstitutionalized  Social Choice  394
15.  From  Individual  Choice  to  Social  Choice  397
The Problem of Independence from Irrelevant Alternatives  398
Tournaments as  Institutions for Social Choice  403
Multi-Stage versus  Single-Stage Processes for Social Choice  405
The Nature of Rights in Social Choice  41416.  The  Corporate  Actor as  a System of Action  421
Weberian Bureaucracy in Theory and Practice  422
The Formal Organization as a Specification of Transactions  425
Modes of Maintaining Viability in Formal Organizations  426
Explicit and Implicit Constitutions  435
Structures That Link Interest and Control  442
General Principles for Optimizing the Corporate Actor’s
Internal Structure  446
The Changing Conception of the Corporation  448
17.  Rights  and  Corporate  Actors  451
Allocation of Corporate Rights and the Public-Goods
Problem  451
Exercise and Exchange of Rights  452
The Drift of Power toward Actors Having Usage Rights  456
Withdrawal of Usage Rights through  Voice and  Exit  463
18.  Revoking Authority  466
Theories of Revolution  468
Comparative Macrosocial Research:  Inequality,  Economic
Development, and Repressiveness  486
Ideology in Revolutions  487
A Theoretical Framework of Revolution  489
19.  The  Self  503
Problems Inherent in a Unitary Actor  504
Functional Components of the Self  507
The Dual Role of Interests  509
Processes of Change inside the Actor  515
Corporate Actors’  Changes in Self  527
Part IV  /  Modern  Society
20.  Natural  Persons  and  the  New Corporate  Actors  531
Individual Sovereignty  531
Changing Conceptions of Sovereignty  532
Emergence of Corporate Actors in Social Organization
and Law  534
Examples of Interactions of Natural Persons and Corporate
Actors  542
Types of Interactions Involving Corporate Actors and
Persons  546
Displacement of Nature by Human Constructions  552
21.  Responsibility  of Corporate  Actors  553
Responsible Actions of Natural Persons  556
Social Origins of Corporate Responsibility  558Internal Changes and Corporate Responsibility  560
Tax Laws and Social Norms  573
Free-Rider Problems for Corporate Responsibility  574
Corporate Responsibility in Sum  575
What Conception of the Corporation Is Best for Natural
Persons?  577
22.  New Generations  in the  New  Social  Structure  579
The Conflict between the Family and the Corporation  579
Distribution of Income to Children in the New Social
Structure  587
Consequences of the New Social Structure for Social
Capital  590
The Direct Impact of the Two Social Structures on the Next
Generation  597
23.  The Relation of Sociology  to  Social  Action  in the  New
Social  Structure  610
The Social Role of Social Theory  611
The World of Action and the World of the Discipline  615
The Structure of Society and the Nature of Applied
Social Research  616
Applied Social Research and the Theory of Action  626
What Should Applied Social Research Be  Like?  645
What Research Is Missing?  647
24.  The  New  Social  Structure and  the  New  Social  Science  650
The Replacement of Primordial Social Capital  652
Independent Viability,  Global Viability,  and Distribution in
the New Social Structure  655
Modes of Organizing Action  658
Nation-States versus Multinational Corporations,  or Voice
versus Exit  660
The New Social Science  663
Part  V  /  The Mathematics  of Social Action
25.  The  Linear System  of Action  667
Two-Person Exchange System with Divisible Goods  670
Restrictions on the  Utility Function  674
Beyond a Two-Person System of Action  680
The Competitive Equilibrium and the Linear S/sy .n  of Action  681
Further Derivations and  Use of the Model  687
Economic and Psychological Prope  ties of the  Utility  Function  693
Open Systems  695
Appendix:  An Iterative Method tor Solving for r or v Given
X and C  69826.  Empirical  Applications  701
Estimation of Value with Perfect-Market Assumptions  702
Estimation of Value  When There Are Two Resources and
More Than Two Actors  703
Estimation of Value When There Are  More Than Two
Resources  709
Arbitrary Zero Points for Resources  711
Sampling and the  Importance of the Population and  Resource
Distributions  715
Estimation of Interests  717
27.  Extensions  of the  Theory  719
A Perfect Social  System  719
Psychic Investment  721
Dependence of Events  722
Partitioned Systems of Action  725
Losses in  Exchange  between Actors and between
Resources  729
28.  Trust  in  a Linear  System of Action  747
Introducing Mistrust into a System  750
Lack of Complete Trust in Larger Systems  756
29.  Power,  the  Micro-to-Macro Transition,  and  Interpersonal
Comparison of Utility  769
Interpersonal Comparison  769
Cardinal  Utility  778
Power, through a Market and Otherwise  781
30.  Externalities  and  Norms  in a  Linear System  of Action  785
When Will Actions Having Externalities Be Taken? The Coase
Theorem Revisited  787
Externalities and  Level of Affluence  796
What Is Meant by  Efficiency?  799
The Rationality of Norms  800
31.  Indivisible  Events,  Corporate  Actors,  and  Collective
Decisions  829
When Will Control of Events Be Collectivized?  829
The Constitutional  Stage  830
The Postconstitutional Stage  844
Social Choice by Various Decision Rules  856
Conflict  86932.  Dynamics  of the  Linear  System  of Action  874
Exchange with Two Actors and Two Resources  875
Change in  Resources Held by One Actor  878
Movement of a Resource among Actors  885
Logical Constraints on Transition  Rates in Pairwise  Exchange
Systems  887
A Description of the Path of Values:  Walrasian Adjustment  889
Dynamics of Systems with  Social-Structural  Barriers  892
How Do Power of Actors and  Values of Events Change?  895
33.  Unstable  and Transient  Systems  of Action  899
Single-Contingency and Double-Contingency Collective
Behavior  901
Transfer of Control in  Single-Contingency Panics  903
Double-Contingency Panics  911
Evolution of Strategies  931
34.  The  Internal  Structure  of Actors  932
Event Outcomes as Actions of a Corporate
Actor  933
Corporate Outcomes and Public-Good  Problems  937
The Value of Resources and the Interests of a Corporate
Actor  939
Subjective and Objective Interests of a Corporate Actor  941
The  Internal  Structure of Persons as Actors  946
References 951
Name  Index 973
Subject  Index 979