Energy has grown in importance to sociologists over the past several years because of the growing interest in environmental variables and because of the reality of the energy predicament facing many contemporary societies. These concerns have stimulated a steady growth in energy‐related sociological research; unfortunately, this research has proceeded either atheoretically or along lines where energy issues are “gerryrigged” to traditional sociological concerns. A continuation of these practices offers little hope for producing cumulative knowledge. Sociologists interested in developing theoretical research programs or theoretically guided empirical energy research have a substantial intellectual base upon which to build. Scholarly history contains numerous theories that focus on the relationship between energy and human activity. Presented here is a critical overview of the most prominent of these “energetic” theories of society, followed by an illustration of the severe problems in their theoretical method using several examples. Several recommendations regarding theory development are made. Our objective is to expose those with energy or environmental interests to this intellectual base and to offer guidance for avoiding the shortcomings in