Читать книгу Essentials of Sociology - George Ritzer - Страница 46

Georg Simmel’s (1858–1918) major importance in contemporary sociology lies in his contributions to micro theory. Simmel believed that sociologists should focus on the way in which conscious individuals interact and associate with one another (Scaff 2011). Simmel was interested in the forms taken by social interaction. One such form involves the interaction between superiors and subordinates. He was also interested in the types of people who engage in interaction. For example, one type is the poor person and another is the rich person. For Simmel, it was the nature of the interaction between these two types of people and not the nature of the people themselves that was of greatest importance. Therefore, poverty is not about the nature of the poor person but about the kind of interaction (e.g., help for, or hostility toward, the poor) that takes place between the poor and the rich.