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Towards a more pragmatic sociology of markets

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Abstract

A satisfactory sociology of markets requires that both order and disorder in markets be addressed, yet sociologists have seemed more concerned with theorizing market stability and order. Change, however, is too fundamental a part of markets to receive so little sociological attention. One perspective that provides a fertile ground for moving ahead with developing an agenda for studying both stability and change in markets is American pragmatist social theory. This article therefore examines the influence of a pragmatist viewpoint on two broad modern theoretical approaches that have implications for the sociology of markets, one focused on stabilization processes, the other on institutional designs for promoting change. Most particularly, it draws on work carried out from a pragmatist viewpoint and illustrates a pragmatic approach to change in markets using the case of the EU’s Forest, Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) action plan and initiative.

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Notes

  1. Performativity theory is rooted in actor-network theory (Callon 1986; Latour 1987), which was applied originally in the sociology of science and technology.

  2. Experimentalist governance forms part of a more general neopragmatist theoretical approach to organization and governance (cf. Herrigel 2008; Berk and Galvan 2009).

  3. http://www.verifor.org/

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  1. Department of Sociology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Christine Overdevest

  2. Institute of International Business, Stockholm School of Economics, Hollandargatan 32, Box 6501, Stockholm, Sweden

    Christine Overdevest

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Overdevest, C. Towards a more pragmatic sociology of markets. Theor Soc 40, 533–552 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-011-9149-1

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