ACTION THEORY 799
and properly, human subjects
the subject of their actions. I
subjectivity refers to the
autonomy.54 In agreement w
structuralism, Althusser emp
while determined by social str
are the authors of their action
is precisely this illusion of the
the decentered subjects. As w
very much aware of the fact t
and values of society by i
freedom for those individua
indication of freedom in neo
explicitly the necessary requir
external determination. In oth
and structuralism emphasizes
nation of the internalized nor
for neofunctionalism the ass
rule-believing individual is
freedom, whereas for structur
evidence for rejection of the
of individual actors.
Basing the concept of agency and freedom upon the
principle of autonomy, we can locate the common theoretical
error of structuralist and functionalist action theories. It is the
reificatory and excessively deterministic common premise of
both structuralism and functionalism which should be criti-
cized. Individuals are not passive embodiments of social roles
and the followers of clearly defined and determining rules. On
the contrary, rule-following is accompanied by rule-defining,
rule-redefining, and rule-exploiting practices of individuals in
their concrete conflictual interactions.55 One of the best
54 Louis Althusser, Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays (London: NLB, 1971), pp
121-177.
55 One of the first systematic critiques of role theory can be found in Alain
Touraine, Post-Industrial Society (New York: Random House, 1971).
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