Parsons' Concept of “Generalized Media of Social Interaction” and its Relevance for Social Anthropology

Abstract

The concept of “generalized symbolic media of social interaction” was introduced by Parsons five years ago in his two articles on the concepts of power and influence.1 I believe that it represents a theoretical development of the first importance, which has received much less attention—particularly in my own field of social anthropology—than it deserves. The purpose of the present paper is to review and criticize the concept itself and to point out its relevance to certain problems in social anthropology.