Abstract

In this chapter, I defend the thesis that all social phenomena—their structure and their change—are in principle explicable in ways that only involve individuals—their properties, their goals, their beliefs, and their actions. Such explanations are sometimes unfeasible for practical reasons, but it is argued that they should always define the goal of scholars. In addition to considering the views of Tocqueville, Marx, and Durkheim, the chapter addresses the views of G. A. Cohen, Pierre Bourdieu, Robert Putnam, and Kenneth Arrow.