Sociological Theory and Social Control

Abstract

In the origins of sociology, "social control" served as a central concept both for relating sociology to social philosophy and for analyzing total societies. In its classical sense, it referred to the capacity of a social group to regulate itself. The concept supplied a basis for integration of theory and research until the 1930s. While the traditional usage of social control has persisted, the term has been redefined to mean either socialization or social repression. Either the classical meaning must be utilized or a new term must be developed to refer to the capacity of social groups to effect self-regulation if theory and research are to deal with macrosociology under advanced industrialism.