Introduction
In his seminal work *The Constitution of Society*, Anthony Giddens attempts to resolve one of sociology's oldest debates: do individuals create society, or do structures determine people? Rejecting this dualism, Giddens proposes **structuration theory**. In this article, you will learn how everyday, routinized practices build stable social systems and why structure resembles a "path in the grass"—it exists only because we continue to walk it. Understanding this concept allows us to see the dynamic relationship between our agency and the frameworks within which we operate.
Duality of Structure: The Unity of Action and System
The foundation of Giddens' theory is the **duality of structure**. This means that social structure is simultaneously the **medium and the outcome** of human action. It is not an external "straitjacket" but rather a set of virtual memory traces. It consists of **rules** (constitutive, defining the meaning of actions, and regulative, specifying norms and sanctions) and **resources**. Resources are divided into **allocative** (material, such as means of production) and **authoritative** (non-material, concerning the organization of time and relationships).
In this view, **power** is not a negative phenomenon but the primary capacity to "make a difference" in the course of events. It stems directly from the mobilization of available resources. Structure provides actors with the tools for action, but at the same time, it is constantly reproduced and modified by these actions in an endless feedback loop.
Practical Consciousness and the Routinization of Life
Giddens rejects the vision of the human being as a "puppet of the system." Social actors are **reflexive**—they constantly monitor their own conduct. They operate through **discursive consciousness** (knowledge they can verbalize) and a much broader **practical consciousness**. The latter is the tacit, internalized knowledge of "how things are done." It is this daily **routinization** of actions that gives life stability and builds **ontological security**—a fundamental trust in the continuity of the world.
In this process, **time and space** are crucial; they are not merely a backdrop but a constitutive element of practices. Through **regionalization**, or the spatio-temporal partitioning (e.g., the rhythm of the workday, urban architecture), society integrates the actions of individuals distant from one another. This allows for the continuity of structures even when interactions do not occur "face-to-face."
Giddens vs. Bourdieu and Habermas: Debating the Nature of the System
Structuration theory provides a sophisticated alternative to other frameworks. Unlike **Pierre Bourdieu**, Giddens places greater emphasis on the reflexive agency of the individual than on a determining *habitus*. Giddens firmly **rejects evolutionism**; for him, history is not a linear progression but a process full of accidental turns and ruptures. He also disputes with **Jürgen Habermas**, avoiding a rigid division between "system" and "lifeworld"—for Giddens, social and system integration are two aspects of the same process.
An important contribution of Giddens is the concept of the **double hermeneutic**. Sociology does not merely describe the world; its theories permeate the lay knowledge of actors, changing their behavior. In this way, science becomes an active participant in the reality it studies, which precludes the existence of immutable, "natural" social laws.
Summary
The significance of Giddens' theory lies in its fundamental redefinition of the relationship between the individual and society. Instead of two separate entities, we are presented with a picture of dynamic co-creation, where there is neither absolute freedom nor ironclad determinism. Knowledge here is not merely theoretical but practical and intersubjectively verified in discourse, while reflexivity is measured by the ability to critically reconstruct norms and their justifications. These differences lead to distinct visions of the role of social sciences, which become tools for consciously shaping the structures in which we live.
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