The Cement of Society: A Survey of Social Order (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780521376075)

The question addressed in this challenging new book is: What binds societies together and prevents them from disintegrating into chaos and war? Elster analyzes two concepts of social order: stable, predictable patterns of behavior, and cooperative behavior. The book examines various aspects of collective action and bargaining from the perspective of rational choice theory and the theory of social norms. It is a fundamental assumption of the book that social norms provide an important kind of motivation for action that is irreducible to rationality.

Author: Jon Elster
ISBN-10: 0521376076
ISBN-13: 9780521376075
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 07/28/1989
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.83lbs
Size: 8.45h x 5.38w x 0.80d