ABSTRACT
In this chapter on economic sociology and sociological theory, we return first to the founding fathers of sociology, who contributed to making the economy an unavoidable object of sociological reflection. By introducing a conception of social action that is not limited to the instrumental rationality of the homo oeconomicus, they paved the way for a reflection on the links between economy and society that opened up economic sociology to sociological theory and to the integration of its major innovations. Those attempting to make the economy a form of the structure of social action whose particularity lies in its function within society initially proposed a systematic and systemic view on economy in society. This conception was first challenged by the theory of the transformation of the societal role of economy which has been considered to escape social control along the historical development of societies in order to eventually impose itself on society. Second, it was criticised for its view on social action, which has been opposed to a conception of social action embedded in a network of interactions. This highlighting of the relational attribute of social action is at the origin of the new era of economic sociology in the mid-1980s which, while leading economic sociology beyond a sociology of economic markets and economic inequalities, has contributed to opening up new perspectives on topics such as material and symbolic actants in the economy, as well as on the role of the technological infrastructure of economic organisations and their embeddedness in economic mediations, aiming at renewed reflection on the fundamentals of economic sociology.
