In Praise of Macro-Sociology: A Reply to Goldthorpe

Abstract

In the pages of thisJournalJohn Goldthorpe recently (1991) attacked what he called 'grand historical sociology' (GHS) and argued that its methods and data were far inferior to those of sociologists who study the present. He named me as one of the GHS cast, if only in a walk-on role. I have to confess I find his polemic rather elusive. He is abusive yet poorly informed about GHS while being obsequious toward historians, for him the true custodians of the past.2 The payoff from his attack is also feeble: merely a warning that historical evidence, what he calls 'the relics', constitute rather imperfectevidence. Yes, indeed. None the less, it is worth responding to his attack, principally to remind sociologists of how essential grand macro-sociology is to our discipline.