Sociology and the Englishness of English social theory

Although England has a rich tradition of social and political thought, soci ology does not figure strongly in this tradition. Several influential accou nts-such as those by Noel Annan, Philip Abrams, and Perry Anderson-exist to explain this fact. I examine these accounts and, while largely agreeing wi th the explanations, question whether we should accept the authors' conclus ions. In particular, we need to ask whether England was so different from o ther countries in this respect. Moreover, even if sociology was weak in Eng land, does this mean that the contribution of English social theory was als o weak? What alternative traditions of social thought might exist? In exami ning the English case, we may get some insight not just into the "peculiari ties of the English" but also into the way in which the history of sociolog y has come to be written and into some of the assumptions underlying the na ture of sociology as a discipline.