Is Rational Choice Theory All of Social Science?Advocates of rational choice theory in political science have been perceived by their critics as attempting to establish an intellectual hegemony in contemporary social science, to the detriment of alternative methods of research. The debate has gained a nonacademic audience, hitting the pages of the New York Times and the New Republic. In the academy, the antagonists have expressed their views in books, journal articles, and at professional conferences. Mark I. Lichbach addresses the question of the place of rational choice theory in the social sciences in general and in political science in particular. He presents a typology of the antagonists as either rationalist, culturalist, or structuralist and offers an insightful examination of the debate. He reveals that the rationalist bid for hegemony and synthesis is rooted in the weaknesses, not the strengths, of rationalist thought. He concludes that the various theoretical camps are unlikely to accept the claimed superiority of the rationalist approach but that this opposition is of value in itself to the social sciences, which requires multiple perspectives to remain healthy. With its penetrating examination of the assumptions and basic arguments of each of the sides to this debate, this book cuts through the partisan rhetoric and provides an essential roadmap for the future of the discipline. Mark I. Lichbach is Professor of Government and Politics, University of Maryland. |
Contents
Part II The Rationalist Challenge | 27 |
Part III The Alternatives to Rationalist Hegemony | 71 |
Part IV The Debate about the Debate | 113 |
Part V The Philosophy of Science | 149 |
Notes | 215 |
281 | |
313 | |
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alternative analysis approach argues assumptions Bates behavior beliefs causal causal mechanisms ceteris paribus collective action comparative comparative static complex concepts concrete conflict constitute context culturalists culture deductive-nomological defined economic embedded unit act emphasis in original empirical equilibrium evaluate example explain explore facts falsifiable game theory hegemony hence historical human hypotheses ical ideal types ideal-type ideas identities individual institutions interactions interests internal interpretation intersubjective laws Lichbach meaning metanarratives methodology microfoundations modest rational choice norms nuts and bolts observable one’s ontology outcomes paradigms particular perspective phenomena philosophy of science political positivist predictions processes produce rational actor rational choice theory rationalists reality relations research communities research program research traditions revolution rules scientific sect situations Skocpol social order social science social scientists social theory socially embedded unit society specific strategies struc structuralists synthesis theoretical theorists thick tions turalists tures typologies understand values variables Weber