Structure vs. agency

From Geography

‘One of the basic debates in sociology is that about the relative power of agency vs. structure’ (Cline, 2010). In this context ‘agency’ refers to the capacity of individuals to make their own choices and to act independently. On the other hand ‘structure’ refers to the social systems that constrain, if not completely determine, the actions of individuals. So there are two questions:

- To what extent is our behaviour prescribed? (Structure)

- Or are we as human beings free to act? (Agency)

There is an debate going on over the primacy of structure or agency relates to an issue at the heart of both classical and contemporary sociological theory. Emile Durkheim, a functionalist thinks that structure and hierarchy are essential in stabilising the very existence of society. Karl Marx, a theorist, on the other hand, thinks that the social structure can act to the detriment of the majority of individuals in a society. In both these instances "structure" may refer to something both material (or "economic") and cultural (e.g. related to norms, customs, traditions and ideologies).

"One example often used is the situation experienced by members of a sports team. Each member may have some freedom to exercise their own will to act, but their actions are nevertheless powerfully constrained by the accepted and traditional rules of behaviour, which characterize that particular sport. Pressure from authority figures and peers prevent people from doing just anything they want"(Cline, 2010). This point of view gets supported by political economists and human ecologists. They try to explain why people do what they do, based on different sorts of structure. On the other hand, constructivists put their focus on the human agency: social conventions would be contested and negiotated by the actors.

Both, structure and agency, exist because of each other. The individual help to create the social system and the social system help to create what the individual is. So you can’t exclude one or the other, but one can be more influential than the other.

Reference

• McLaughlin, P. and Dietz, T. (2008). "Structure, agency and environment: Toward an integrated perspective on vulnerability". Elsevier, volume 18, issue 1.

• Cline, A. (2010). Agency vs. structure. Vinddatum 14 november 2010, op: http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/general/bldef_agencystructure.htm

• William, H. Sewell, Jr. (1992). A Theory of Structure: Duality, Agency, and Transformation. University of Chicago

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