Description

Why do some efforts to implement social change succeed while others fail? Yoshimichi Sato observes in this book that existing theories focus on social action at either the micro- or the macro-level, but are unable to explain the multi-level transitions. Sato argues that efforts to effect social change at the macro-level stimulate responses at the micro-level, and it is the accumulation of these micro-level social actions that determines the macro- level social outcomes. Turning to game theory to analyze these multi-level transitions, Sato concludes that intentional social change is successful when the change agents anticipate and control the range of responses of micro-level social actors such that the responses to the change agent's endeavors accumulate towards the desired outcome.