Description
Book SynopsisIn his newest book, leading social theorist Jonathan H. Turner offers a creative, richly grounded reinterpretation of social evolution.
Trade ReviewThis is a stunning achievement by a first-rate scholar and social theorist. Highly recommended. * CHOICE *
[Turner's] book is an excellent contribution to the theoretical literature on social evolution. Turner has an excellent feel for how the process of long-term social evolution works, both descriptively and in terms of the key casual forces. His book should be read far and wide. * American Journal of Sociology *
Using innovative methods, concepts, and notations developed in his earlier works, and eschewing a 'prime mover,' Turner outlines a cogent and comprehensive macro-level theory of social organization and social change. Avoiding the pitfalls of earlier functional analyses of social institutions and social order, the theory identifies the key 'macro-dynamic' forces that shape and alter the 'institutional order,' and it proposes general models of their impact, and of the patterned interrelationships, and mutual causality among the key institutions of societies. -- Patrick D. Nolan, University of South Carolina
Table of ContentsChapter 1: Institutional Analysis Chapter 2: A Theory of Macrodynamic Forces Chapter 3: The Institutional Core Chapter 4: Institutional Systems of Hunter-Gatherer Populations Chapter 5: Institutional Systems of Horticultural Populations Chapter 6: Institutional Systems of Agrarian Populations Chapter 7: Institutional Systems of Industrial and Post-Industrial Populations Chapter 8: Fundamental Interchanges Among Institutions Chapter 9 Conclusion
