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This collection of 12 theoretical essays explore the bases of human action and society, and trace the major developments of contemporary sociological theory and analysis. Examining themes of trust and solidarity among immigrants, youth groups and generations, in the forms of friendship, kinship, and patron-client relationships, Eisenstadt explores larger questions of social structure and agency, conflict and change, and the reconstitution of the social order. He looks also at political and religious systems, paying attention to historical empires and the major civilizations. United by what they reveal about three major dimensions of social life - power, trust and meaning - these essays offer a perspective on the relations between culture and social structure.