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This paper first reviews the descriptions and structural explanations for variations, in urban population densities in the United States over several decades. The research reviewed focuses on shifts in the technology and economics of travel as being the major influences on urban density distributions. These variables appear to be somewhat less adequate as explanations of the process in recent decades. After reviewing these findings and suggesting several research questions, we attempt to assess the evidence relating variations in population density to several other aspects of human behavior. A review of the research relating high population densities to various "social pathologies" indicates that little of the variance in rates of these pathologies can be attributed to density independently of other social structural variables. Some important consequences of population density have been reported, however, and possible research directions are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an attempt to analyze the fundamental components of Gramsci's Marxist theory: the assertion of absolute historicism and humanism over economic determinism, the primacy of superstructural over infrastructural activities, the primacy of ideological over political hegemony and the subjective over the objective dimension in Marxist theory of history and society. Furthermore, after reviewing the historical development of the sociology of knowledge and contrasting Marx, Mannheim, Stark, and Gurvitch with Gramsci's theoretical positions, an attempt is made to delineate a Gramscian sociology of knowledge. In its basic framework, the ideologization of thought is pressed to its extreme; the theory of knowledge becomes the theory of ideology; the totality of sociocultural phenomena is ultimately subordinated to the hermeneutic criterion of "critical consciousness" of subaltern classes developed in their ascendant movement toward idological and political hegemony, and the success of positivist methodology is explained in terms of the masses' lack of critical consciousness. In conclusion, the Gramscian sociology of knowledge becomes a form of critical consciousness. Its validity resides in its ideological function of intellectually organizing the experiences of the masses. Thus, ideologies cease to be viewed as intellectual processes mystifying social reality as in Marx and Mannheim and acquire true historical, psychological, and gnosiological value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theorizing in economics is often associated with some form of individualism. This paper considers the nature of this association in the work of Carl Menger. I adopt this focus not only because of continuing interest in Menger's work, but because recent developments in social theory facilitate a fruitful reevaluation of his general position. I argue that a convincing link between theory and individualism is absent in Menger's work. Moreover, I argue that the various criticisms often made of his work actually relate to the ideas which underlie his individualism rather than, as is usually supposed, those arising from an adherence to a form of Aristotelianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews half a century of research into the determinants of fertility. It is argued that the quest for the determinants of fertility behaviour and change during that period can best be interpreted as the development of a series of sub-narratives from different disciplinary perspectives and orientations. These are normally based upon the initial narrative of the demographic transition and usually take the form of a verbal theory illustrated by a 'box and arrow' diagram. On occasions formalization has been attempted. Different parts of the initial narrative have been highlighted at different times depending on policy interest, improvements in technical skills, availability of data, changes in social setting, and the degree of satisfaction with the dominant sub-narrative of the day. There is every reason to believe that the research process identified will continue and will lead to a further accumulation of knowledge. In fact, all important variables have probably already been identified. That it will, ultimately, lead to a single, consolidated narrative fully satisfactory for all settings and for all time is, however, highly unlikely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents detailed analyses of eight dimensions of objective distances among social classes in Hungary and Poland based on large-scale social surveys carried out during the 1980s. The data for both countries could be fitted well with a modified log-multiplicative model that included a single set of relative class distances and class-specific tendencies for homophily across all dimensions. Social distances were greatest with regard to the selection of friends, and endogamy with regard to class of spouse and career mobility. Distances were more moderate with regard to intergenerational social mobility, endogamy with regard to spouse's father, and similarities among siblings. They were smallest for residential segregation and two-generation intergenerational mobility. In Hungary, homophily was greatest for workers in agriculture, the self-employed, and higher professionals. The largest gaps in unidimensional class distances were between skilled and semiskilled workers and between higher professionals and managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces various articles and research papers of the 1992 issue of the "International Journal of Sociology."

Non-welfarist approaches to well-being are often criticized for ignoring personal preferences and suffering from a dictatorial logic. This paper argues that welfarist approaches do not have a special quality of preference neutrality and that non-welfarist/non-dictatorial approaches to well-being and interpersonal comparison are possible. Utility is a function not of goods and preferences, but of goods and tastes, and the latter are decomposed into expectations and preferences. A theory of well-being based on choice is recommended. Choice is defined as a function of personal resources and arena options. A typology of measurement approaches is developed. Indirect measurement is recommended above direct measurement. Implications are discussed for income, social indicators, and capabilities in the measurement of well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, recent research on the economics of institutions is summarized and assessed. The economics of institutions is an attempt to integrate recent research in various sub-fields of economics and the other social sciences in order to present a coherent research program for exploring the link between institutions and wealth. Although the core of the framework is a modified version of neo-classical economics, it is argued that the optimal deviation from the neo-classical model varies with the level of analysis and the types of variables that we seek to endogenize. The unifying theme of the analysis is the introduction of transaction costs and the related concept of property rights, which give organizations and institutions a central role in economic life. The paper provides a summary view of the economics of institutions, and discusses in some detail two common lines of criticism: that the approach ignores power relationships in economic affairs, and that its use of the rational choice model is inappropriate. The need for augmenting the economics of institution with an operational theory of mental models and learning is recognized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of promotion prospects in explaining class differences in political preferences at different points in the life-cycle. The argument contains four main propositions. First, that present resources are often discounted in favor of future rewards when making political choices. Second, that the extent of future rewards is a key distinguishing characteristic of social classes, Third, that differential perceptions of future opportunities for rewards will lead to individuals in different classes preferring parties that are at different points along a left-right continuum. Fourth, that with age there is a diminishing utility of future rewards and increasing importance is therefore attached to present resources, which reduces the discounting of present for future rewards when making political choices. These hypotheses are tested using British national survey data. The evidence, although of a limited nature, supports all four propositions. It is concluded, tentatively, that class differences in left-right partisanship among young people are primarily a result of class differences in expectations concerning future occupational rewards. Among older respondents, however, present resources are of considerably greater importance in explaining political divisions between classes. Empirical support is therefore obtained for the role of prospective rewards in providing individuals in different classes with divergent interests, but this role diminishes in importance as the future foreshortens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The awarding of the 1992 Nobel Prize for Economics to Gary Becker draws attention to Becker's outstanding work in economics. At the same time, it draws attention to a new phenomenon, for which Becker himself is more responsible than anyone else: the use of basic principles of economics to address problems in sociology. Much of the work for which Becker is best known treats problems that are quite outside the field of economics proper and fully within the field of sociology. What is striking about this is that Becker remains committed to the explanatory logic of neo-classical economics; he applies that logic uncompromisingly, using the same tools in examining marriage markets as in examining financial markets. In this paper, some of Becker's work on sociological problems are discussed and assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One important consequence of the increasing convergence between sociology and economics is that sociologists make increasingly more use of rational choice theories for the explanation of social action. This shift opens up the possibility that sociologists make use of what must be considered to be the most powerful regularity in the social sciences: the relative price effect, which states that behavior depends directly on relative prices (or relative scarcities). This effect is also known as the law of demand: as one good becomes more costly in comparison to others, a person will purchase less of that good. It turns out that crucial sociological questions (for instance the relation of gain-oriented behavior to moral behavior) make it necessary that we know something about the size of the relative price effect. Surprisingly, there is virtually no theory in economics on this point and thus rational choice theory is badly in need of being extended in this direction. In this paper, two such extensions are suggested. First, a theory of alternatives consisting of (a) a theory of social production functions, (b) a theory of non-given alternatives and (c) a theory of 'ipsative' sets of alternatives. Second, a theory of framing is presented which links the relative price effect to the definition of the situation which in turn is theoretically linked to the theory of alternatives. It is argued that these extensions make rational choice theory much more relevant for sociological applications than the neoclassical model in which alternatives are exogenously given and the definition of the situation is implicitly locked to a standard trading situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the problem of aggregating individual choices between three discrete alternatives, and discusses how the likelihood of cyclical aggregate preferences under majority rule depends on social integration in large populations. It is argued that the so-called impartial culture condition gives rather limited information as to the likelihood of the paradox occurring, and an alternative model is outlined. Social structure is introduced, by imposing correlation between the first and second choices. The resulting structure may significantly reduce the likelihood of a cyclical outcome. A measure of similarity between rankings is introduced, and this measure serves as a vehicle for discussing the effects of social integration on the distribution of the population across the six possible rankings of alternatives. It is concluded that integration significantly reduces the likelihood of a cyclical outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutional economics has moved from a position, earlier in the twentieth century, of drawing eclectically on several other disciplines, to a stance of building its arguments almost entirely out of neoclassical materials. This paper argues that such a stance cannot provide a persuasive account of economic institutions, and suggests a broader foundation based on classical sociological arguments about the embeddedness of economic goals and activities in socially oriented goals and structures. Emphasis is placed on how economic activity comes to be coordinated by groups of people rather than carried out by isolated individuals. Firms in developing countries, business groups, and the origins of the electrical utility industry in the United States are posed as cases of the 'social construction of economic institutions'. It is argued that, although proper analysis of such cases involves a high level of contingency, these contingencies can be taken into account in a systematic theoretical argument, and that historicist pitfalls can be avoided. Such an argument is posed as the distinctive agenda for a new economic sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of sociology can be described as a triangle, the apexes of which are represented by the structure of social organisation (Spencer's theory of the division of labour), the structure of cultural codes (Saussure's theory of language and semiology) and social action (Weber's methodological individualism). This becomes a three-dimensional discursive space when underneath it we place, as the fourth apex, nature. Consequently we have a triangular pyramid standing on its head (nature): its four plans are represented by the field of sociology (the structure of social organisation, the structure of cultural codes, action), structuralist social anthropology (the structure of social organisation, the structure of cultural codes, nature), cultural anthropology (the structure of cultural codes, action, nature) and historical materialism (the structure of social organisation, action, nature). This turned-over tetrahedron is described in the paper as the discursive space of sociology, a space that has taken shape with the attempts at a theoretical synthesis of sociology during the 1980s (Alexander, Bourdieu, Collins, Giddens, Habermas). As in the case of the discursive conditions for all forms of knowledge, the discursive space of sociology is a rhetorical closure which determines who are classical writers and how these classical writers are to be read and understood. At the same time it serves as the basis for the positivity of sociological knowledge. It is suggested that this space will emerge to reorganise the uncertainty produced by the collapse of the Parsonian orthodoxy which was primarily concerned to examine society from the perspective of the structure of social organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper starts with an analysis of the three main principles of the social order of 'real socialism': etatistic homogenization, basic dichotomy between the ruling group and all the direct producers as a whole, and politically-defined-from-above income differences among different sectors of employees. The structural crisis of this order is described as gradual undermining of these principles brought about especially by the growth of the second economy. In the last section the dilemmas of the recently started system transformation are described in terms of symbolic support but lack of short-term interests of the most numerous social groups in the market reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although best known for his notion of 'conspicuous consumption' in The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899), Thorstein Veblen also offered sociology another unit-idea: 'the instinct of workmanship'. The present paper explores Veblen's 'instinct' both in current scientific theory and, more significantly, in Veblen's own ethnic identity. The primordial sources of the instinct of workmanship were brought to light in the archeology of Stone Age Scandinavia. From his vantage point as a Norwegian-American maverick, Veblen discovered in ancient Baltic wasteheaps clear signs of a peaceable, hard-working society and culture. Juxtaposed with German and English 'predatory' societies, the Nordic spirit seemed benign and idyllic. The Golden Age was indeed made of flintstone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economics, political science, and sociology are, in this paper, understood to be not only scientific but also moral languages. An economic approach to moral obligation emphasizes that obligations to the self automatically cover obligations to others. A political approach, by contrast, argues that some kind of centralized coercive authority is necessary so that people will carry out their obligations to each other satisfactorily. Sociology has always understood itself in opposition to both the market and the state, but it has never been clear about its alternative. Many of the classical thinkers in the sociological tradition wished to preserve both modernity (in the form of markets and states) and morality (in the form of strongly inscribed norms and community obligations). This balance is best resolved by emphasizing morality as a learning process requiring 'civil society' — not as an end in itself, but as a place in which the learning of moral obligation can be carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of children is either totally absent in sociology or is treated within very limited contexts which are considered marginal for sociological theory and research. The paper aims at examining why there is no sociology of childhood and what kind of sociological rethinking is needed to bring children into sociology. First, the conventional approach in child-related themes — recognized as 'socialization' — is discussed. Secondly, sociological notions of 'the family' are taken up and criticized on the basis of the feminist project of deconstructing the family. Finally, childhood is considered as a social construct and some demands for research on children and childhood are developed that may help to avoid the long-held and unnecessarily limiting views on these topics and make way for the emergence of a sociology of childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is another pragmatic attempt to include women in the comparative study of intergenerational class mobility in France and Sweden, two societies that differ in their political history and in the prevalence of women's activity outside the home. In the main, it addresses two questions: How do the mobility patterns of women via marriage compare with those of men via occupational career? How do the mobility patterns of women via marriage compare with those of women via occupational career? These questions are treated in terms of actually observed life chances as well as in relative terms, which shows the impact of the division of labour by sex on differences in life chances by alternative channels of mobility. An attempt is also made to assess the relative importance of interactions between women's social origin, own occupation, and class position by marriage. The association between the latter two proves to be the strongest by far. Rather unexpectedly, social origin does not appear to affect the association between husband's class and wife's occupational category either in France or in Sweden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses middle managers and administrators--a sizeable and developing stratum in the contemporary capitalist society. Their contradictory class situation leads one to regard them as belonging to the middle strata. Changes in their material conditions in the last decades are briefly considered, and shifts in their moods and attitudes in greater detail. Four main types of their social orientations are suggested. The author concludes that the growing identification of middle managers with their own social group--and the corresponding weakening of identification with the employer's interests--is an advance in their historical development. Winning over middle managers and administrators is rather important for the success of the struggle of the working class for deep-going democratic exchanges in society, for socialism. In practice, however, this involves great difficulties. Middle management has strong social ties with the capitalist establishment. The confrontation between managers and managed, rank-and-file workers, cannot disappear under capitalism, though it may attenuate considerably and is already attenuating. At the same time, changes occurring in the attitudes of managerial cadres create opportunities for an alliance with them or, at least, for a drift of a significant part of them from pro-capitalist to neutral positions.

The purpose of this paper is to problematize earlier class analyses of public employees, and to argue for a new methodological approach, involving new concepts, in such analysis. As a result of the discussion, a typology has been produced which is claimed to be usable in further analyses of the social and political behavior of public employees in the modern welfare states. The contribution therefore has a somewhat theoretical and a priori character, which seems justified, however, because of the considerable clarification needed in especially this area. The general assumption underlying this departure, which the whole analysis can be seen as an attempt to sustain, is that public employees constitute a special group or category and also a special problem, for class analysis, which therefore warrants special analysis. It will thus be argued, that the social division of labor within the state/public sector can be understood neither by assigning, in an ahistorical manner, different functions to the state, nor by analogies with conditions in the private sector. Rather it must be understood through a dynamic historic-institutional analysis of the areas of public regulation and intervention and the growth of these. public employees

This paper is a reply to the comment by T. R. Young on the exchange between Donald McQuarie and the author on the role of conceptual frameworks or paradigms in the development of theory in sociology and the social sciences. The crux of the debate may be outlined in a quotation from Henri Lefebvre which asked if dialectic materialism is both science and philosophy. The notions of method, science and praxis are the focus of this reply. For Lefebvre as for Marx, the dialectical method is a means of constructing historically grounded theory about societies; theories are the result of supplying historical correctness to the method.

This article replies to comments of David Klein on a discussion of the role of conceptual frameworks or paradigms in the development of theory in sociology and the social sciences. The three major points of the discussion are summarized, and the author claims that Klein failed to refute any of these major points. At several points Klein seems to confuse conceptual analysis with conceptual frameworks. The paper is not a blanket condemnation of conceptual frameworks or theoretical perspectives, and it does not suggest that they play no role in theoretical advances. What it suggests is that much of the work on conceptual frameworks, though couched in theoretical terms, is illusory.

Midwest Sociological Society President Helena Lopata has stated her concern that about the high rejection rates of scholarly sociology journals and appears to accept the claim that most of the rejections are a consequence of poor writing, thus reflecting inadequate training in graduate school. She proposes to build a peer network of colleagues to review one's papers before they are submitted, and having reviewers for journals "take more seriously than they have in the past the task of training" persons to submit publishable articles. One of the problems with Lopata's proposal is the assumption that one can delineate a model for an acceptable, i.e. publishable, paper in sociology. Reviewers approach their task with diverse theoretical, methodological, and metaphysical assumptions.

This note outlines the type of papers which the U.S. periodical "The Sociological Quarterly" wishes to publish. The periodical is a general sociological journal, and as such does not place any quotas on the number of papers it shall publish in any specific area. It nearly always considers scholarly sociological research and writing done by sociologists as being within the journal's acceptable limits. The note airs a special call for articles on the teaching of sociology as well.

A growing number of papers have appeared which report that the partisanship of the local context influences the party attachments of individual residents. The present paper criticizes this finding and the contextual approach to the study of partisan choice. First, the general mathematical model of contextual partisanship is derived from existing research. Next, a multiple data file, consisting of survey and aggregate evidence, is used to examine the generality of certain specific models. Finally, the same data file is employed to consider the effects of two assumptions common to contextual models, "random mixing" and nonselection. Only one of four specific models is initially found to fit observations. Further analysis reveals that individuals' party allegiances are spuriously attributed to contextual influences as a result of assuming random mixing and nonselection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article features the response of the author to a critique of his paper about sociologist Herbert Blumer's theoretical position on symbolic interactionism in the light of the views of George Herbert Mead on the same concept. The intellectual history of Blumer has been reviewed including his collegial relationship with Charles Ellwood. Empirical support for the author's reconstruction of the Chicago sociology department is offered. The author then proceeds to response to his supposed misrepresentations about Blumer's views on symbolic interactionism. The role of exceptional instance in Mead's philosophy of science is not inconsistent with the author's views.

This paper attempts to define the field of demography, identify the demographer, assess the extent to which demography is a social science and relate it to the other social sciences. It examines how changes in the outside world affect what demographers do and what they publish. As befits Population Studies's 50th anniversary, the role of journals, and especially of this journal is examined. The early role of the journal and of its longtime two editors in defining the field is discussed. The interface between demography and the other social sciences is examined, as is the extent to which demographers publish in journals other than specialist population ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces various articles and research papers of the 1984 issue of the "International Journal of Sociology."

The article discusses the scope and mission of the journal. The journal embraces theoretical and empirical work, micro and macro levels of analysis, quantitative and qualitative methods, and all substantive areas of sociology. The criteria for evaluating papers submitted for publishing are explained. The topics that the editors are in need of further research and clarification are mentioned, including sociology of economic and social change.

The Publications Committee of the Midwest Sociological Society decided that some of the readers of the scholarly journal "The Sociological Quarterly" might be interested in the review process. When a manuscript of scholarly writing arrives, it is assigned a unique number, then the committee examines the manuscript to determine if it should be sent out for review. There is a large number of editorial advisors, selected for their past performance and capabilities, who represent most areas in sociology. If a paper receives a "revise and resubmit" decision, the author/s are advised to follow some or most of the suggestions of the referees. After acceptance authors may be asked to make minor revisions but these do not delay the publication date.