ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author is concerned with the relation between theory and research in sociology, and in particular with the interplay of various rational choice approaches and the statistical results of empirical social investigations , he apply rational action theory to quantitative analysis of large-scale data-sets-findings on Dutch society. The question on Dutch society, its political parties and the percentage of the vote for confessional parties received an answer attesting to a high plateau of pillarization until the mid 1960s, and a drop afterwards. The Dutch government granted hardly any welfare, adhered to a law that old people without sufficient means had to be taken care of by their children, and supported the administration of welfare by the churches. For the various Dutch municipalities, lists have been preserved with the name, place and date of birth of the Jews who lived there in 1941 or 1942.
