Social Differentiation Network Theory

Editorial overview

An inquiry into explanation

This book develops an account of how concrete differences enter into social consequences: how they are extracted, assigned weight, connected through nodes and relational chains, and preserved through write-back for possible later use. Its concepts include the differentiating unit, the relational field, weight, and the historical index.

The author opposes communism and does not acknowledge the existence of classes, while affirming the reality of labor, wages, debt, domination, risk, and communities. Class theory is judged to be Model C in its total-image-subsumption form from the outset; its problem is not confined to later overuse.

Models A and B designate limited explanations on the same level, with no predetermined winner. Model C concerns total-image subsumption and the erasure of distinctions between explanations; these are not presented as mandatory successive stages. The theory also makes an affirmative judgment in social ontology: society forms and exists as a differentiation network. This does not make the network a fixed totality or an actor with a will of its own.

This overview is editorial. For the full definitions, conditions, and arguments, read the Introduction.