IN THE CONCEPT of socail decision-making, vague commitments of a normative and l political nature are translated into specific commitments to one or more specific courses of action. Since decision-making includes an element of choice, it is the most deliberate and voluntaristic aspect as social conduct. As such. it raises the question: To what extent can social actors decide what their course will be. and to what extent are they compelled to follow a course set by forces beyond their control? Three conceptions of decision-making are considered here with assumptions that give varying weights to the conscious choice of the decision-makers.