Ideal type

About: Ideal type is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 400 publications have been published within this topic receiving 8012 citations.

Do We Really Know What ‘The Family’ Is?

Abstract: The theme of this book not only implies a relationship between family life and economic life but also presupposes a clear understanding of the two concepts of ‘family’ and ‘economy’. This chapter focuses upon the former concept and will present evidence and argument to support the contention that we are, as scholars and as everyday participants, remarkably ignorant about family life. Following this, it will be made clear that a critical reappraisal of the nature of family life is a fundamental prerequisite for the development of an adequate understanding of the relationship between family life and economic life. Further, it is concluded that the issues of ideology and the social construction of reality are both central to any examination of this relationship.

Fit for purpose? Clarifying the critical role of profit for sustainability

Abstract: This conceptual article contributes to the post-growth strand of political ecology literature, which seeks to find sustainable ways of organizing the economy that do not require economic growth. It explores the idea that transitioning to post-growth societies requires a transition in the relationship-to-profit of business. I first conceptualize relationship-to-profit as the intersection of purpose, investment, and ownership of firms. Specifically, for-profit business structures entail a financial gain purpose, private ownership, and unlimited returns on investment; whereas not-for-profit business structures have a social benefit purpose, collective ownership, and limited returns on investment. I then outline ideal types of for-profit and not-for-profit economies, based on the differences between these two kinds of relationship-to-profit. The first ideal type shows how the for-profit business structure drives consumerism, economic growth, and ecological harm, as well as inequality and political capture, preventing post-growth transitions. These dynamics might be slowed down by businesses that seek to balance private financial gain with social benefit (known as dual-purpose businesses). The second ideal type describes the dynamics that might be expected in an economy consisting of not-for-profit businesses, which have a legal mandate to pursue only social benefit. This analysis explains how transitioning from for-profit to not-for-profit forms of business might change some of the most problematic dynamics of the economy, allowing for post-growth transformations. A brief discussion of the possible shortcomings of a not-for-profit economy is also offered. Keywords: Not-for-profit business, nonprofit enterprise, for-profit business, relationship-to-profit, post-growth, degrowth, economic growth, sustainability, sustainable econom

Cooperation and Discord in U.S.-Soviet Arms Control

Abstract: If international cooperation was difficult to achieve and to sustain during the Cold War, why then were two rival superpowers able to cooperate in placing limits on their central strategic weapons systems? Extending an empirical approach to game theory--particularly that developed by Robert Axelrod--Steve Weber argues that although nations employ many different types of strategies broadly consistent with game theory's "tit for tat," only strategies based on an ideal type of "enhanced contingent restraint" promoted cooperation in U.S.-Soviet arms control. As a theoretical analysis of the basic security behaviors of states, the book has implications that go beyond the three bilateral arms control cases Weber discusses--implications that remain important despite the end of superpower rivalry. "An important theoretical analysis of cooperation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the area of arms control... An excellent work on a subject that has received very little attention."--ChoiceOriginally published in 1991.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Weber or Troeltsch?: Methodology, Syndrome, and the Development of Church-Sect Theory

Abstract: The historical development of church-sect theory is analyzed, and two major points are made. First, insufficient attention has been paid to the role of church-sect in its original use by Max Weber and, in particular, in the context of his treatment of the ideal type. Second, since the work of Ernst Troeltsch, the use of church-sect in the sociology of religion has been beset by the "Troeltschian syndrome"-a misdirected focusing upon Troeltsch's use of these concepts in developing a "sociological formulation" for solving a theological problem, rather than on the sociological problem itself. Recent contributions are assayed with these points in mind and placed in critical perspective to the work of both Weber and Troeltsch.