There is no universal agreement about what the proper objectives of theory should be. Perhaps for that reason commentators can often be seen to criticise theories or theorists in ways that seem unfair. To assess a theory adequately it is necessary to consider what it is actually trying to achieve. With that in mind, Baert and Carreira da Silva have identified four common mistakes critics make when registering their dissatisfaction with a theory: 1. Explanatory Reductionism: the explanatory reductionist assumes that all theories are about explaining, or predicting social phenomena. That may be a common goal but it is not ubiquitous. Some theories aim to provide understanding rather than explanation. The authors talk about some theories designed to develop self-understanding: ‘they allow us to consider some of our presuppositions and to re-describe and assess our present societal constellation’. 2. Perspectivism: here the critic focuses on the perspective of the theory, that slice of social life it aims to describe (power, agency, values). The critic often implicitly suggests that there is no independent measure by which …