Sociological Theory and Social Control

1 Sociological Theory and Social Control Author(s): Morris Janowitz Source: American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 81, No. 1 (Jul., 1975), pp. 82-108. Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: . Accessed: 27/02/2014 07:28. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact.

2 The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Journal of Sociology. This content downloaded from on Thu, 27 Feb 2014 07:28:13 AM. All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Sociological Theory and Social Control1. MorrisJanowitz University of Chicago In theoriginsofsociology, "socialcontrol"servedas a centralconcept both for relatingsociologyto Social philosophyand for analyzing its classicalsense,it referredto the capacityof a Social groupto conceptsupplieda basis forinte- grationof theoryand researchuntilthe traditional usage of Social controlhas persisted,the termhas been redefined to mean eithersocializationor Social the classical meaningmustbe utilizedor a new termmustbe developedto refer to thecapacityof Social groupsto effect self-regulation if theoryand researchare to deal withmacrosociology underadvancedindustrial- ism.

3 In theemergence ofsociologyas an intellectualdiscipline,theidea of Social controlwas a centralconceptfor analyzingsocial organizationand the development of ,thetermdealtwitha generic aspect of societyand servedas a comprehensive basis for a Sociological examination of the Social fact,it was one intellectualdevice for linkingsociologicalanalysisto thehumanvaluesand philosophical orienta- tionsemployedby somepioneersociologists interestedin " Social progress". and the reductionof irrationality in Social the most funda- mentalterms," Social Control "referredto the capacity of a societyto regulateitself accordingto desired principlesand values.

4 Sociological analysishas the task of exploringthe conditionsand variableslikely to make thisgoal attainable. In thispaper,I shall seek firstto set forththe intellectualparameters in the conceptof Social controlas it was originallyformulated in order to serveas the basis fora broad sociologicalframeof reference. Then I. shall examinethe earlyusage and diffusion of the ,I shall examinethe efforts, startingin the 1930s, to transform its meaninginto the narrowernotionof the processesof developingconformity; in this connection,it is interestingto probe the reasons for this attemptto transform themeaningof Social ,I shall examinethe per- sistenceof the classicusage of the conceptby selectedsociologistsduring the periodsince 1945 and therebyassess its relevanceforcontemporary 1 This paper is a section of a larger study, "Macrosociology and Social Control .

5 ". I am indebted to the Russell Sage Foundation, New York City, for a generous grant in support of this work. 82 AJS Volume 81 Number 1. This content downloaded from on Thu, 27 Feb 2014 07:28:13 AM. All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SociologicalTheoryand Social Control sociologyand foranalyzingthe crisisof politicallegitimacyin advanced industrialsocietieswithparliamentary institutions. Because some sociologistshave come to definesocial controlas the Social psychologyof conformity, sociologicaltheoryand analysis have typeof thinking contributes to the difficulty of relatingthe sociologicalenterprise to othersocial sciencedisciplinesas well as to Social philosophyand to issuesof professional practiceand Social a new termhad to be inventedor the earliermeaninghad to be recon- have chosen to retracethe intellectualhistoryand usage of Social Control ,sinceI believethatthe conceptin its originalmeaningcan helpto integrate bodiesof empiricaldata withsociologicaltheory,to codify researchfindings.

6 And to handlequestionsof Social values in Sociological ,one ofmycentralarguments is thata closeexamination of theintellectual historyof theidea of Social controlrevealsthat,despite the constriction of its originalmeaningin some quarters,its broad and genericmeaninghas had a strikingly persistentvitalityfor the studyof thesocial order. In 1925, GeorgeHerbertMead wrotein the InternationalJournalof Ethics that" Social controldepends,then,upon the degreeto whichindi- vidualsin societyare able to assumeattitudesof otherswho are involved withthemin commonendeavors"(Mead 1925). He was merelyarticulat- ing, in his own conceptualterms,a widespreadorientationin American sociologythat had already been reflectedin the firstvolume of the AmericanJournalofSociologyin ,a sociologist who still feltat ease with the languageof Social philosophy,offeredthe formulation: " Social controlis the art of combining Social forcesso as to givesociety at least a trend toward an ideal" (p.)

7 490). Social controlhas to servedand continues serve as a shorthand notation for a complexset of viewsand viewpoints. a It has been "sensitizing concept,"in the termi- nologyof HerbertBlumer,or a "theoretical orientation," in thatof Robert K. Merton. Moreover, Social Control has been directlylinked to the studyof total has stood for a comprehensive focuson the nation-state and a concernwhichhas cometo be called "macrosociology.". INTELLECTUAL PARAMETERS. The intellectualinvestment in the idea of Social controlderivesfroma rejectionof economic controlhas been an expressionof the outlook that held that the individualisticpursuitof economicself-interest can account for neithercollectivesocial behavior nor the existenceof a Social orderand does not supplyan adequate basis for the achievementof ethicalgoals.

8 Much of the writingabout Social controlmustbe understoodas sociologists'efforts to accept the relevance 83. This content downloaded from on Thu, 27 Feb 2014 07:28:13 AM. All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions AmericanJournalof Sociology butat thesame timeto identify thelimitations of marginal-utility analysis. In formalterms,one can thinkof Social organization, thesubjectmatter of sociology,as thepatternsof influencein a populationof Social groups. Social Control ,therefore, is not to be conceivedas beingthe same as Social organization;it is insteada perspectivewhichfocuseson the capacityof a socialorganization to regulateitself;and thiscapacitygenerallyimpliesa set of goals ratherthana singlegoal.

9 Social controlis a perspective which, whilecommitted to rigoroushypothesis testing,requiresthe explicationof a value position. Social controlwas not originallyand subsequentlyhas not been neces- sarily the expressionof a conservativepolitical outlook. Many early Americansociologistswho used the termwerereligioussocialists;others wereadherents ofa "progressive" is moreto thepointto emphasize that theseearly formulations parallelsociologists'contemporary interests in "value maximization."While Social controlinvolvesthe capacity of constituent groupsin a societyto behavein termsof theiracknowledged moraland collectivegoals,it does not implyculturalrelativism.

10 The term has continuity becausesocialcontrolcan be conceivedas restingon a value commitment to at least to two elements:the reductionof coercion,al- thoughit recognizesthe irreducibleelementsof coercionin a legitimate systemof authority,and the eliminationof human misery,althoughit recognizesthe persistenceof some degreeof should also mentiona thirdelement:a commitment to procedures of redefining societal goals in orderto enhancethe role of rationality, althoughthis may be consideredinherentin the firsttwo. The oppositeof Social controlcan be thoughtof as coercivecontrol,that is, the Social organizationof a societywhichrestspredominantly and es- sentiallyon force-the threatand theuse of course,even in the mostrepressive totalitariannation-state theagentsof repression are limited in scope by someprimitive, if unstable,set of ,and more pertinent to theissue at hand,any Social order,includinga societywitha relativelyeffective systemof Social Control ,will requirean elementof coercion.