(1979). Social Networks and Psychology. Connections, 2 - INSNA

- 76 -involving the consideration of how other conditions operating differently "would" have"favored" it . When we carry through this comparison in our imagination by sufficientlynumerous conceivable modifications of the constellations of conditions, then a considerabledegree of certainty for a judgment of the degree of objective possibility is conceivable,at least in principle (Weber, 1949 : 183) .Weber's logic of inquiry has significant implications . First, as Parsons notes, a given phenomenonis, for Weber, "capable of description only in terms of a specific combination of the values of analyticalelements (ideal types) . . . (which) introduces an element of rididity that may issue in a methodologicalatomism . . . (and) a 'mosaic' theory of history" (Parsons 1949 : 621) . In other words, history becomesa "process of shuffling of ideal types as units" . However, Parsons' proposed solution is furtheratomization, i .e ., "generalized theory which breaks down the particular element combinations in the idealtypes (Parsons 1949 : 626) . While Parsons correctly asserts that such a breakdown adds "flexibility", the"mosaic" problem is compounded by the use of finer units and cross-cutting variables . I shall examine thislater in Weber's analysis of class and status, where Weber does what Parsons argues for .The difficulty with the "mosaic" is the absence of relational and developmental concepts . First, whilea limited number of structures are consistent with a single type of social action, and may be found to coexisthistorically, the relations among them cannot be determined through social action concepts . Thelatter give no basis, for instance, for interpreting relations among bureaucratic, market, and collegialstructures . Second, while Weber is consistently (though certainly not exclusively) seeking to trace"developmental stages" through differential combinations of "types", each of which is a differences of"degree" (1968 : XXXI), as a methodological principle all possible combinations may occur at any given timefor any given society . While Weber hopes that such stages, especially in the emergence of rational actionas the dominant type, will emerge empirically, they may or may not be "discovered" as an historical sequence .Furthermore, even if such stages emerge from analysis, the actual processes of change (rather than theidentification of which elements changed) are difficult to incorporate in a methodologically consistentway . Thus one of Weber's most impressive analyses of the processes of change, that of charismatic socialaction and the routinization of charisma, departs from this methodology in favor of a more formal approach .Weber's model of social change consists of a single series of formal stages through which any type ofsociety must go in order to change into another type, independent of the specific combination of otherideal types of action or structure defining the society historically .The Confusion of Distribution and Structure : Class and StatusThe implications of Weber's strategy of aggregation become clear in his studies of stratification .His analysis of class and status is an important example of the conception of the structure of societyas distributions of individually-attributed and cross-cutting variables . Here also, in his contrastbetween status as a property of groups and class as a shared individual characteristic, the relationshipbetween intermediate organization and the depiction of society as a whole can be examined .First, Weber asserts that "classes" and "status groups" (as well as "parties") are "phenomena of thedistribution of power within a community" . "Power" is defined here as "the chance of a man or number ofmen to realize their own will in a social action even against the resistance of others who are participatingin the action" (1968 : 926-927) . Class for Weber is also an individual attribute . A particular "class" isa set of individuals defined by the operator of "class situation" . In Weber's terms, "'class' means allpersons in the same class situation" ; and "class situation" is defined as a potentially shared attribute ofindividuals, i .e ., "the typical probability of 1) procuring goods, 2) gaining a position in life, and 3)finding inner satisfactions" (1968 : 927) ."'Class situation' and 'class' refer only to the same (or similar) interests which an individual shareswith others" (1968 : 302), and classes "represent possible, and frequent, bases for social action" (1968 :927) . At the same time, classes "emerge only on the basis of social action . . . among members of differentclasses" (i .e ., "the labor market", "the commodities market", and "the capitalistic enterprise") (1968 :930) . What Weber seems to be saying here is that the distributions of economic chances of individualssimultaneously results from the social action upon which markets are based, and serves as the basis forthat same social action . This is neither inconsistent, nor tautological, but indicates that Weber isseeking to establish correlations between types of social action based on interest, and types of distributionsof interest .The picture of society that emerges has two important characteristics : First, all actors in societyare distributed according to a series of cross-cutting variables ; and second, each of these distributionsserves as the basis for the division of all social actors into mutually exclusive categories . The populationmay be distributed according to the value of property ("property classes"), the marketability of commoditiesand/or skills ("commercial classes"), or degree of potential mobility ("social classes"), or any combinationof these classes simultaneously . Thus, any given individual social actor is analytically divided into aseries of variables, any of which may give meaning to his social action . Each of these distributions thenserves as a basis for the creation of sets or categories ; for example, "commercial classes" are categorizedinto various types of entrepreneurs, professionals, skilled and unskilled workers . Furthermore, thesevariables cross-cut each other ; for example, Weber describes certain "commercial classes" as being "middle