ABSTRACT
HISTORIANStwohundredyearshencemayseeascentraltothe twentiethcenturywhatweourselveshavebeenpayingalmostno attentionto:theemergenceofasocietyoforganizationsinwhich everysinglesocialtaskofimportanceisentrustedtoalargeinstitution.Tous,thecontemporaries,oneoftheseinstitutions-governmentorbigbusiness,theuniversityorthelaborunion-oftenlooks liketheinstitution.Tothefuturehistorian,however,themostimpressivefactmaybetheemergenceofanewanddistinctpluralism, thatis,ofasocietyofinstitutionaldiversityanddiffusionofpower. Hemayreportfortheclosingdecadesofthetwentiethcenturyan upsurgeofcreativethoughtinthesocialandpoliticalspheresasgreat asthatoftheseventeenthcentury,whenBodin,Locke,andHobbes gaveuswhatwestillcall"modernsocialtheory."
