Sociocultural Versus Neoclassical Ecology: A Contribution to the Problem of Scope in Sociology

This paper attempts to reconcile the sociocultural and neoclassical approaches to human ecology. The sociocultural frame of reference emphasizes individual action. It has proven effective in studying phenomena such as land use within a city, but its effectiveness for studying properties of entire populations has not been demonstrated. The ecological complex is a frame of reference designed to study properties of populations. These two frames of reference are complementary rather than contradictory. The sociocultural approach is a microecological approach and the neoclassical approach is a macroecological approach. One can demonstrate the complementarity of these approaches by moving between the micro and macro levels of analysis.