Includes bibliographical references (p. 249-262) and index.

Introduction: the problem of social order -- Institutions and social order: sociological and economic approaches -- Self-governance and social order: a more political approach -- Benign neglect: self-governance on currency futures markets -- The meddlesome Leviathan: self-governance on the commodities markets -- Toward a politics of social order: self-governance on the equities market -- What governs? Organizational competition and the weak Russian state -- State policy and self-governance: the political roots of social order -- The Bear's bear: institutional developments and the crash of 1998 -- Conclusion: social order and social science.