Applying the Metric/Nonmetric Distinction

Abstract

Now that the presentation of the three layers model is completed, the next step is to demonstrate how to use it for conducting empirical research. What is of interest is the impact that one form in social reality can have on another form. Four distinct cases can be considered: (1) how a nonmetric form interacts with another nonmetric form; (2) how a nonmetric form interacts with a metric form; (3) how a metric form interacts with a nonmetric form; and (4) how a metric form interacts with another metric form. The last case is of special importance since it indicates how social change can occur in an anonymous manner, that is, unbeknownst to social actors. As an illustration, the chapter offers a rereading of Max Weber’s late theory of capitalism. Weber’s analysis not only stresses the successive displacements of religious identities (nonmetric forms) but also the progressive accumulation of universal practices (metric forms).