SOCIAL-EXCHANGE AND SOCIAL SYSTEM - A PARSONIAN APPROACH

Three problems have restricted the use by sociologists of social excha nge theory. The first is the risk of utilitarianism, present in the pe rspective followed by Homans. The second problem is the inability of s ocial exchange theory fully to achieve its goals: in particular, its f ailure to resolve the issue of money in social exchange. The third pro blem is social exchange theory's inability to pass from explanation of elementary behavior to that of social structures and institutions. Th is essay shows how these difficulties can be overcome by incorporating social exchange theory into a Parsonian framework. Development is giv en to Parson's notion of influence as a generalized medium of exchange which circulates in the social system and which, for sociology, perfo rms the same functions as money in economics. The analogies between th e conceptual systems of economics and sociology go beyond the simple n otion of exchange, which, in fact, constitutes a key concept with whic h to study the workings of the social system.