ABSTRACT
This chapter summarises some of the central issues in a way that will enable the student to move forward with more confidence and a bit less confusion. Most writers on social administration seemed to accept this ideology and the related theories. The reactionary-revolutionary continuum is the dimension of theoretical variance that is most frequently discussed. The two major theories of society considered in this book are functionalism and marxism. Both of these theories stress the difficulties of achieving major changes within our present social system but for rather different reasons. In looking at theories of the role of government it is important to distinguish between normative theories which suggest the role that governments should take, and positive theories which attempt to describe the roles that governments do actually perform in western democratic societies. Neo-classical micro-economic theory sets an ideal of individual choice in its analysis of economic markets.
