ABSTRACT
The complex social structures that characterize large collectivities differ fundamentally from the simpler structures of small groups. A structure of social relations develops in a small group in the course of social interaction among its members. An investigation of complex structures ignoring all problems except those directly pertaining to legitimating values is just as inadequate and one-sided as an investigation of social associations that ignores exchange processes and power relations. Without social norms prohibiting force and fraud, the trust required for social exchange would be jeopardized, and social exchange could not serve as a self-regulating mechanism within the limits of the norms. All social relations and transactions involve communication. Common values of various types can be conceived of as media of social transactions that expand the compass of social interaction and the structure of social relations through social space and time.
