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This paper applies Max Weber's proposition regarding the differences between the 'sciences' to the 'historicist controversy': the problems emerging from opposing approaches to understanding the past. The historiography in question is the development of the 'biomedical model' of health and disease, and the rise of 'medicine' in the course of 19th century Europe and Britain. While Weber's theoretical framework does not answer the questions posed by present-day scholars about specific historical events, it enables a critique of the process through which history is 'constructed', and offers an alternative approach to the 'transformation' of 19th century medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a sociological study on privatization with reference to policies of different nations, network analysis and the effects of privatization on different classes. It analyzes the financial and social impact of privatization policies, which is a shift in the direction of economic policies with empirical evidences while exploring current theories of the privatization policy processes. The article also discusses the relationship between government policies and ideational theories on change, and functionalist and pluralist orientation of privatization.

The article discusses the sociological perspective of prevalent theories of the policy process of privatization. Governments in several countries are gradually accepting the need for privatization and other market oriented reforms due to the shortcomings of maintaining an extensive welfare state and a large public sector. According to several studies, privatization policy is selected in order to achieve key goals such as equity, efficiency, reliability, and consumer choice. Therefore, according to many social scientists, privatization is viewed as a political phenomenon rather than economic, administrative, or fiscal.