ABSTRACT
Theory is a product of lived relations in the social world, and artefacts become meaningful in the context of theorised social relations. This chapter focuses on an apparent paradox: that theory, which is traditionally characterised as the abstract antithesis of concrete practice, of which artefacts are the even more concrete outcome, is itself an artificial product, an outcome of a process of theorising. This theory is neither abstract nor ahistorical, but is the outcome of a process of theorising and therefore a cultural artefact which reflects the experience, the history, the symbolism and language of human actors. Theory may be seen in terms of the paradoxical nature of language and its artificial ability to separate meaning and non-meaning by ordering relationships within particular lexical frameworks. The chapter provides the importance of artefacts themselves in the process of theorising everyday commercial relations. Readership/authorship is part of the duality of production/consumption and themselves have artefactual qualities.
