ABSTRACT
It is sometimes a bit of a shock to be reminded that sociology's proponents have studied inaction and the reasons for inaction as much as if not more than action itself. One would be quite wrong to think, though, that all this extensive treatment of inaction, all these cautionary tales about social dissolution by sociologists have translated into increases in social participation. By any estimate, the vast majority of ordinary everyday actors do not make use of sociological theories. The social fact of significance here is that the sharing of an inner conflict is a risk that stands to change the nature of the conflict. It potentially turns it from an internal to an external conflict. At the same time the term hesitation is useful because it also describes an existential dilemma. In the past it seemed to the 'man of action' that 'he who hesitates is lost'.
