ABSTRACT
Parsons decided to write a specific chapter on political processes quite late in the evolution of the project. In 1973-1974, he had drafted a chapter treating jointly the relationships between the societal community and the economy and polity (Parsons 1973-1974). The chapter was revised several times with the usual addition of handwritten and typewritten inserts. After writing chapter 6, however, and with a more detailed plan of chapter 8 in mind, Parsons felt that an additional chapter was necessary “to bring all three of these references [economy, Gemeinschaft complex, and societal community] together in their bearing on the political system” (Parsons 1978h). Parsons started to write the chapter in fall 1978, while he was in Japan, but he did not complete the draft (Parsons 1978i). The draft was still not completed in March 1979, although he had been working on it (Parsons 1979b).
