1. A Review of Lichbach’s Social Theory and Comparative Politics Pete Catalano PSCI 8250 30 January 2006

2. Beginning Quotes For the believer there are no questions; for the non- believer there are no answers. Rabbi Menachem Mendel We live…amid the debris of reason. Adam Seligman It is not the “actual” interconnections of “things” but the conceptual interconnections of problems which define the scope of the various sciences. Max Weber

3. Four Major sections Section 1: Three Exemplars –Bates: Rationalist – the principle or habit of accepting reason as the supreme authority in matters of opinion, belief, or conduct Kenya’s agrarian economy –Scott: Culturalist- culture –Sociol. The sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another Malaysian peasant village –Skocpol: Structuralist – structure- Sociol. The pattern or organization of elements in a society or culture. Historical analysis of revolution in China, Russia, and France

4. Section 2: Research Communities and Their Properties Community PropertyRationalistCulturalistStructuralist Ontology- the branch of metaphysics that studies the nature of existence Rational actors, Intentional explanations, Actions, Beliefs, Desires, Methodological individualism Rules among actors, Intersubjectivity, Common Knowledge, Common values Relations among actors, Holism Methodology- A system of methods or principals & rules as those of Art or Science Comparative statics, Irrational social consequences of individually rational action, Unintended, unwanted, unavoidable Meaning and significance, Culture as cause/constitutes reality, identity, action, order Social types, causal powers, Sturctures with law of dynamics Comparison Positivism, Generalization, Explanation Interpretiveism, Case study, Understanding Realism, Comparative history, Causality Lacunae- a gap or missing part Instrumental rationality, Mechanical behavioral view of subjectivity Tautology, teleology in existence and causal impact on outcomes Iron cage, determinism,Voluntarism absent Subtraditions Human nature, rationalist, Social situation, Sujectivists, Intersubjectivists State/society, Pluralism- Marxism-statism ExemplarsRobert H. BatesJames C. ScottTheda Skocpol

5. Section 3: The Socially Embedded Unit Act Culturalist Norms BeliefsDesires Choice Social Action Rationalist Structuralist Conditions Individual Collective Approach

6. Section 4: Weber, Modernity & Comparative Politics Weber – social scientists should begin inquiry by analyzing the value relevance of the prob. Sit. They find themselves in. Weber –Rationalist- warns of paradoxical consequences of modernity –Culturalist- fascinating paradox in the origins of modern rationality –Structuralist- inst dynamics cage individuals in the dialectic of reason and irrationality Weber’s exploration of the Modern world (pp270-271) Conclusion: dialogue of the hearing

7. Beginning Quotes For the believer there are no questions; for the non- believer there are no answers. Rabbi Menachem Mendel We live…amid the debris of reason. Adam Seligman It is not the “actual” interconnections of “things” but the conceptual interconnections of problems which define the scope of the various sciences. Max Weber