Are ABM explanations in the social sciences inevitably individualist?

Abstract Agent-based models (ABMs) are increasingly important in social science research. They have two obvious apparent virtues: they can model complex macrosociological phenomena without strong assumptions about agents and analytic solutions for models, seem to instantiate the methodological individualist program a concrete way. We argue that latter claim is false. After providing schematic accounts of ABM first introduction ways which characterize explanations, we work through six conceptions explanations decreasingly "less individualist" ABM-based sciences not inevitably any these senses. ABMs allow explanatory relations among entities properties environment silent on what basic are, allowing play roles.