The Problem of Social Control and Coordination of Complex Systems in Sociology: A Look at the Community Cleavage Problem

The coordination and control of social systems is the foundational problem of sociology. The discipline was established in Europe in the aftermath of the American and French Revolutions. With the dismantling of the hierarchical controls of European aristocratic systems, the examination of alternative mechanisms of coordination and control became a preoccupation. The Industrial Revolution (c. 1760-1840), which was occurring at the same time, reinforced this preoccupation by decoupling the power of purse and the power of positions of authority. While the hierarchies of church and state retained coercive power, the exercise of such power was increasingly contested. The moral compass of society, its general welfare, and its capacity to adapt to changing circumstances appeared to be aggregated properties of the unconstrained opinions and behaviors of a large collectivity of individuals. The definition of the problem of coordination and control, which emerged in Europe in the new discipline of sociology, still resonates and guides current sociological work. The problem definition [1], broadly stated, is this: if value is placed on nonhierarchical mechanisms of social control, then what mechanisms and structures (consistent with this value) allow a coordination and control of social systems?