Presidential Address: The Place of Force in Human Society

The use of force--both force-threat & overt force--is as ubiquitous as the preachments against it. Whatever else soc systems are, they are also force systems. Force constitutes one of the major foundations of all soc structures. The processes by which the command of force is expended, exchanged, accumulated, or lost are universal in soc interaction, because force is one of the fundamental resources people & groups need to elicit cooperation, help, & conformity from one another. The systematic study of force as a set of control processes is proposed, moving from considering large-scale structures to smaller units, & from situations in which overt force is very much in the background, to those where it plays a prominent part. An attempt is made to show that this general theoretical orientation can generate testable hyp's that will further our understanding of soc structures. Several conceptual clarifications are offered, notably abandoning the loose term power, & analytically separating the main realms or types of control processes, ie, force, prestige, wealth, & affection. Some methodological problems are pointed out, most importantly, that those who are moved by force may not know that they are. E. Weiman.