Generación y transformación de las instituciones sociales

Los procesos morfoestáticos y los procesos

Abstract

Analysed in this paper are the dynamics of the generation and transformation of social
institutions. Two basic paradigms are studied and compared. The utilitarian framework or rational
choice theories, according to which institutions are an attempt to overcome market failures through
institutional mechanisms that lead to socially optimum situations, in the sense that they are
preferable for the individual protagonists involved. Theories of a more sociological or culturalist
nature, on the other hand, emphasize the importance of the cultural component of institutions, as
well as their socio-historical determinants that evolve through complex social processes. While the
former provide theoretically contrastable solutions for a range of limited problems, the latter
analyse deeper problems, although at the risk of producing less conclusive results. In particular, the
difference between both conceptions of social institutions become clear when the factors that give
rise to the development of institutions, as well as the processes through which institutional
frameworks change and evolve in response to different factors, are analysed.