ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the utility of general theory in the social sciences, and of rational choice theory in particular. It focuses on thin and thick versions of rational choice, and argues for the superiority of the latter approach. The chapter describes some of the implications of thick rational choice theory for the practice of historical sociology, a field that has become notoriously skeptical of the charms of general theory. General theories in the social sciences attract scholars the way naked flames attract moths. Regarded as stable equilibria, in which agents have no incentive to deviate from their course of action given others’ behavior, social outcomes can be both unintended and undesirable. If social structures are conceived analogously as limiting individual action, then individual differences should loom larger in determining organizational than market outcomes, for organizations are more highly structured. All complete social explanations must include an analysis of individual motives and actions.
