In order to identify the peculiar role which the social sciences have, and to understand how they differ and do not differ from the natural sciences, it is necessary to consider how social science and social practice are and should be related. Too often the discussion of the relationship of theory and practice has been ignored in considering the nature of social sciences, even though it is clear that theory and practice unite in a special way in the social sciences. (...) A consideration of the relationship between social theory and social practice is perhaps more relevant today than before, because the social sciences are beginning to develop to the point where their results can find practical application in the attempt to solve social problems. In this paper I shall argue that the alternative ways of viewing the relationship between theory and practice can be understood in terms of political and social positions which have been important in the history of social theory. Emphasis will be placed on the role which social sciences can play in developing and recommending solutions to social problems. It is hoped that a new understanding of the liberal, conservative, and socialist approaches to social organization can be achieved and that some new insight into the preferable form of social organization can be gained. (shrink)