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Contemporary British social theorist, arguably noteworthy for having provided a memetic explanation of social behaviour. Unlike Marxist theories, Giddens does not regard sociological explanations as being capable of explaning human agency. However, he does not consider rnadom individual acts as fully accounting for social structures either. Giddens resolves this dichotomy through the process of social reproduction, a process easily described in memetic terms. In this sense, social norms are not necessarily something individuals can easily define when asked but which they will nonetheless recognise when confronted with even comparatively small deviations. As such, social norms both reinforce and replicate themselves.

Giddens draws a sharp line between what he terms pre-modern (traditional) cultures and modern (post-traditional) cultures. In pre-modern cultures, tradition is dominant and prescribes norms of individual behaviour rather than permitting reflection and critical evaluation (See: [morals of abstinence]). In modern culture the tendency is towards a more reflexive state in which consideration is paramount. This distinction may be regarded as analogous to the Virian distinction between [ethics] and [morals].

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