Un esquema de la acción social. Aplicación a las reglas del fútbol

Abstract

In this article, we first present the reader with an outline to explain human collective action, whatever its content might be. The original outline, first developed through the analysis of Military Drill is now being presented in a more current and advanced version, including its empirical verification. Due to its universal scope, its terminology is necessarily an abstract one; therefore, we will attempt to facilitate reader comprehension of this outline by resorting to a specific, well-known and well-documented example of social action, i.e., Soccer. To this end, we will apply step-by-step our outline in an analysis of soccer’s segregation from rugby and the later process by which soccer came to be quickly and efficiently institutionalized in England during the XIX century.