ABSTRACT
The problem of order is one of the most fundamental questions in the social sciences, and there has been a renewed interest in the study of social order. This chapter presents a theory of social order based on the work of Michael Hechter and his associates. It explains how Japanese social groups unintentionally produce a high level of social order in their attempts to increase their own group solidarity. Although social order in the solidaristic theory is a joint function of group solidarity and productiveness, the chapter explains how the production of group solidarity, groups' attempts to control the behavior of their members, produce social order as an unintended consequence. The solidaristic theory explains social order at the macro level as a partial function of group solidarities at the meso level. The higher the levels of group solidarity in society the higher the level of social order.
