Nonmetric forms, arising in a crowd made out of innumerable individuals, correspond to social groups that divide the many individuals in the crowd into insiders and outsiders.
Jean-Sébastien Guy is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Social Anthropology at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, where he teaches classical and contemporary theory. He has published on globalization, Niklas Luhmann’s systems theory and relational sociology.
1. Introduction.- 2. Structure and Agency: Problem and Solution.- 3. DeLanda and the Metric/Nonmetric Distinction.- 4. Metric and Nonmetric in Weber and Durkheim.- 5. Forms and Medium in Luhmann's Systems Theory.- 6. Bourdieu, Giddens and Foucault Through the Metric/Nonmetric Distinction.- 7. Applying the Metric/Nonmetric Distinction.- 8. General Conclusion.