| Abstract: | In the second volume of his Theoretical Logic in Sociology (1982b), Jeffrey Alexander argues that Marxian theory is predicated on a unidimensional model of human action. That means that Marxian theory overlooks the normative dimension of action, thereby portraying human action as entirely egoistic and deterministic. This article argues that Alexander's criticisms of Marxian theory are unfounded, and, more fundamentally, that Alexander's unfounded criticisms reveal that his whole neo-Parsonian project is based on an underlying conception of human action that is seriously mistaken. A major objective of this article is to present a more tenable conception of action. |
