Andy and the rest of WSN:
Just to set the record straight - Sorokin was not a cyclical theorist. He
is often interpreted as such because of his Ideational - Ideographic -
Sensate division of western history. But if you actually READ the Social
and Cultural Dynamics (instead of relying on commentators who have not
themselves read the work), you will find Sorokin *explicitly* emphasizing
that he postulates no theory of historical cycles, neither for western
history (which he examines) nor for non-western history (which he does not
examine). He merely postulates that cultures are unified systems, not
accidental congeries. This in marked contrast to Pareto, Sorokin's
theoretical alter-ego.
In other news: please excuse my ignorance (as well as my poor taste in
such prosaic comments on such a poetic posting) - who is Velikovsky?
Salvatore
Salvatore Babones
Sociology Department
Johns Hopkins University
Ph.D. expected Spring '98