For a theory of the actor in the social sciences : Problematic of the relationship between structure and "agency"

Abstract

The social sciences tend to oscillate between a theory of the subject and a theory of the agent. The first postulates the primacy of the individual as the engine of all action (eg, methodological individualism). Consequently, the essence of what happens in society is explained by psychological forces inherent to the individual. The agent theory defends the reverse position: only social structures (understood in a broad sense) count. These would constitute powerful factors that determine the production of society in all its aspects. Individuals and groups would be nothing more than the expression of social forces structured at the macro level, with practically no margin of freedom. They would be like puppets that behave strictly according to a socio-cultural and socio-political scenario, as well as a given system of socio-economic apparatus. This way of looking at things can be found in mechanistic Marxism and Luhmann-type systemism.