Who makes the rules? Using Wittgenstein in social theory

Although Alfred Schutz is most frequently identified as the main influence on Harold Garfinkel, and the latter on Anthony Giddens in his development of structuration theory, in fact the later Wittgenstein's insights into meaning and understanding strongly influenced both. This paper attempts to demonstrate Wittgenstein's influence on ethnomethodology and structuration theory, and show that despite their intentions, and contrary to what is normally thought, Giddens's and Garfinkel's work do not express as much of a creative version of social life as they intended, in that each had difficulties regarding the issues of social uniformity ("cultural dopes") and individual choice. I will argue that these problems are rooted in their interpretations of Wittgenstein's rule-following considerations.