Social Theory: Simmel and Parsons Reconsidered

Simmel's approach to the study of society is vulnerable in three respects that a Parsonian critique readily reveals. . . . On the other hand, Parson's approach to the study of society is vulnerable in certain respects that a Simmelian critique readily reveals. . . . Even when it may prove impossible to combine the divergent approaches of the two authors in a single interpretive framework where one is dominant and the other subordinate, the social analyst may benefit from alternating the two perspectives when considering some particular set of phenomena.
—Donald N Levine (1991) 2011