The Rational Choice Controversy in Historical Sociology

This collection captures the depth of the debate centered on historical sociology and the role of general theory in the social sciences.

The exchange began at a 1990 symposium of the American Sociological Association, when Michael Hechter and Edgar Kiser argued that historical sociologists should search for general causal principles - to which end the pair introduced rational choice theory.

This volume reproduces the original paper along with other significant contributions to the debate and Kiser and Hechter's replies to their critics.