The last fifteen years have witnessed an explosion in the popularity, creativity, and productiveness of economic sociology, an approach that traces its roots back to Max Weber. This important new text offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of economic sociology. It also advances the field theoretically by highlighting, in one analysis, the crucial economic roles of both interests and social relations.
Richard Swedberg describes the field’s critical insights into economic life, giving particular attention to the effects of culture on economic phenomena and the ways that economic actions are embedded in social structures. He examines the full range of economic institutions and explicates the relationship of the economy to politics, law, culture, and gender. Swedberg notes that sociologists too often fail to properly emphasize the role that self-interested behavior plays in economic decisions, while economists frequently underestimate the importance of social relations. Thus, he argues that the next major task for economic sociology is to develop a theoretical and empirical understanding of how interests and social relations work in combination to affect economic action. Written by an author whose name is synonymous with economic sociology, this text constitutes a sorely needed advanced synthesis—and a blueprint for the future of this burgeoning field.
Richard Swedberg is Professor of Sociology at Cornell University, where he co-directs its Center for the Study of Economy and Society. He is the author of Max Weber and the Idea of Economic Sociology (Princeton) as well as co-editor of The Handbook of Economic Sociology (both Princeton).
"Principles of Economy Sociology is an ambitious book. Swedberg sets out to provide a thorough survey of the field. This includes addressing the foundations, framework of analyses and topics of study of economic sociology. . . . [It] is a showcase for Swedberg's erudite and eclectic thinking. . . . First, [Swedberg] provides a comprehensive overview of the field of economic sociology readable by the expert and the novice alike. Second, his knowledge of economic and sociological theory, as they apply to the field of economic sociology, is sweeping and offers a foundation for interdisciplinary discourse. Third, Swedberg takes us outside American Sociological enthnocentrism and introduces us to the works of Europe's major economists and sociologists. . . . Fourth, in his attempt to be all encompassing, he promotes a theoretical and methodological pluralism worthy of applause."—Linda Brewster Stearns, Contemporary Sociology
"Ambitious, erudite, and compelling, this is the first book to encompass systematically the fundamentals of economic sociology. It offers a uniquely readable and learned overview, while also setting an agenda for the field."—Bruce Carruthers, Northwestern University
"Swedberg is a veritable encyclopedia in the fields of economics and economic sociology, and he brings his wide knowledge of both fields to bear in this book. The result is a comprehensive textbook that is a 'must-read' for scholars, and is still accessible and lively enough to be the perfect introduction for juniors, seniors, and graduate students."—Frank Dobbin, Princeton University
