Power, Resources, and Exchange in the Chinese “Work Unit Society”

The development of a sociological theory is a process which can often only reach a temporary conclusion. A new theory's potential and an old theory's stagnation are invariably a matter either of solved problems which require a new theoretical construction or of the old theory failing which means that a new one is needed. The anomie theory finds itself precisely in that stage of its development in which the old concept for explaining the current “social facts” is considered unsatisfactory, yet more promising prospects are not yet clearly in view. This, therefore, is our objective, to attempt to provide the anomie theory with new insights and meaning.