Theories of Social Change: A Critical Appraisal (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780745609508)

Raymond Boudon is one of the best known European writers in social theory today and is also celebrated for his extensive contributions to empirical Sociology. Theories of Social Change, now available in paperback, is a classic statement of the position he advocates.

Boudon provides a wide-ranging and incisive critique of the existing theories of social change in sociology, documenting his ideas with empirical illustrations. He also adds his own distinct and original contributions to the analysis of social change. In his view, social life is in a fundamental sense marked by 'disorder'. Not only are there laws of social life, but patterns of social change continually diverge from the outcomes which social actors attempt to achieve.

Theories of Social Change is concise, clear and accessible; at the same time its level of analysis is highly sophisticated, and its arguments persuasively and impressively documented.