SUMMARY
Ethnographers often criticize broad theoretical models, such as the one offered by General Systems Theory, as being insensitive to unique historical processes and events that can dramatically affect decision-making at the local level. Using data drawn fromboth a Greek and an Irish rural community, this work examines the validity of such criticism and concludes that there is no necessary inconsistency between variable-level theory and data, provided that the ethnography itself incorporates the appropriate kinds of data.