Dewey railed at "either-or" thinking yet it is alive and well in this
debate. It is my belief that this is an area where activity theorists
have a lot to offer. We know in principle that it is wrong to have a theory
that is EITHER top down OR bottom up. It is the coordination of top down
and bottom up called "meaning making" that everyone is seeking. That
coordination occurs in culturally mediated activity systems. This resonates
more than a little with the "structuralist "versus" "conflict theorists"
dichotomy bouncing around xmca.
mike