The notion of comparison as a vehicle for generating theory through the analysis of fundamentally relevant variables is clarified. Durkheim's writings on the subject of comparison are discussed and the similarities in successful comparative research are noted. A discussion of the concept of culture and its status in cross-cultural research contends that valid cross-cultural comparisons are undertaken between fundamentally different cultures, and distinctions should be made between 'living' culture and cultural tradition. Drawing from the sociology of Max Weber, a partial conceptual framework for the comparative study of deviance is presented that redefines deviance and its subcategories; social conduct was categorized into deviance and nondeviance, rather than deviance and conformity. In the last section, key variables that constitute the basis for differential perceptions and labeling of deviant conduct are identified according to four different models of legitimate order. These models are termed opportunity structures, political systems, behavior matrix, and state models of legitimate order. Thirty-one references and research notes are provided.