Is Agency a Useful Historical Concept?

This article examines the concept of "agency" in history, arguing that agency is a pervasive and ordinary feature of human social life rather than a rare or heroic phenomenon. It critiques the sociological emphasis on social structures as deterministic forces and proposes that structures are both the medium and outcome of social practices, allowing for continuous reproduction and transformation through everyday actions. The article illustrates this perspective through the example of French workers in the early 1830s, who developed a proto-socialist class consciousness by adapting liberal political language and organizational forms after the Revolution of 1830. It concludes that historical analysis should focus on the specific cultural, social, and material resources available to actors rather than on abstract notions of agency, as these resources shape the possibilities for social change and collective identity formation.