Intentional Social Change A Rational Choice Theory

Why do some efforts to implement social change succeed while others fail? Yoshimichi Sato observes in this book that existing theories focus on social action at either the micro- or the macro-level, but are unable to explain the multi-level transitions. Sato argues that efforts to effect social change at the macro-level stimulate responses at the micro-level, and it is the accumulation of these micro-level social actions that determines the macro- level social outcomes. Turning to game theory to analyze these multi-level transitions, Sato concludes that intentional social change is successful when the change agents anticipate and control the range of responses of micro-level social actors such that the responses to the change agent's endeavors accumulate towards the desired outcome.

Yoshiumichi Sato is professor of behavioral science at the Graduate School of Arts and Letters and director of the Center for the Study of Social Stratification and Inequality, Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan.