Speaker
Description
Max Weber observed that both material and ideal interests govern human conduct, but left underdeveloped the structural mechanisms through which they operate. This paper addresses that gap by integrating belief structures into Elementary Theory (ET), a formal network approach grounded in the structural modeling of power. While ET effectively explains strategic action in terms of material constraints and benefits, it has not accounted for the influence of ideas and beliefs on actor decision-making.
This paper extends ET to include status structures that rank positions by influence rather than control over resources. Whereas power structures shape action through material exclusion and differential benefit, status structures operate through belief formation. High-status actors influence how lower-status actors interpret their circumstances, which in turn shapes their ranking of available options. These belief structures may align with or diverge from material reality, but either way, they guide strategic action.
The model shows how exploitative conditions can be reframed through influence. For example, when high-status actors lead others to believe they are engaged in prosocial or equitable exchange, lower-status actors may act against their material interests. These belief effects are formally incorporated into ET’s preference system, allowing for a systematic representation of how material and ideal interests interact. The resulting model provides a composite structure that traces how beliefs about motivations and structural positions influence the flow of power and the shape of strategic action.
By incorporating cultural belief structures into a formal model of networked interaction, this paper offers a structural account of how meaning and material interests intersect. It contributes to the study of socio-semantic networks by revealing how actors interpret and respond to structured inequalities, offering new tools for analyzing the relational architecture of both power and culture.
Keywords/Topics
Status, Power, Exchange
