A Critical Note on Conceptions of Collective Behavior

Elliott Currie and Jerome H. Skolnick
Additional contact information
Elliott Currie: Sociology, Yale University
Jerome H. Skolnick: School of Criminology and research sociologist, Center for the Study of Law and Society, University of California, Berkeley

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1970, vol. 391, issue 1, 34-45

Abstract: "Collective behavior" theory has its roots in antidemocratic theorists of nineteenth century Europe, espe cially LeBon. American sociologists have modified but not eliminated these biases, particularly the imputation of "irra tionality" to collective action. Yet evidence suggests that rioters, for instance, are more "rational" than is often sup posed, and that authorities are also capable of "irrationality." In this paper, we critically examine Smelser's significant efforts to organize the field systematically. We argue that Smelser's efforts result in a "systematization" that often confounds rather than clarifies; that his conceptual organization is founded on undemonstrated assertions about the "exaggerated" character of "uninstitutionalized" beliefs and behavior; that his values are unstated or unclear; and that, whatever his values, he tends to drift into a managerial or administrative vision of collective action.

Date: 1970
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/000271627039100104 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:anname:v:391:y:1970:i:1:p:34-45

DOI: 10.1177/000271627039100104

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().