Social scientists find it harder to agree / than do natural scientists.

Researchers at the leading edge of physics, / for example, / may argue fiercely, / but there is sufficient consensus among the discipline's scholars / for an introductory physics textbook / to state with authority / the basic knowledge that is accepted by the field.

In contrast, / introductory social science texts / often describe their subjects / as a series of competing perspectives.

There are benefits / to stressing what divides us.

By taking specific emphases / to their logical conclusions, / we can readily perceive / the arguments that need to be resolved / if we are to explain this or that aspect / of the social world.

Like politicians in elections, / advocates of particular schools / try to put 'clear blue water' / between themselves and their rivals.

But, like politicians in power, / when the same advocates get round to doing sociology / rather than just advertising their brand of it / they tend to fall back / to a common middle ground.