Signs of Quality: Individualism and Hierarchy in American Culture
Author(s)
Greenhouse, Carol J.
Abstract
This article concerns the conceptual relationships among individualism, social order, and moral hierarchy in the United States. Ethnographic research in a suburban town revealed preoccupations with the links among the avoidance of overt conflict, valorization of the local “way of life,” and positive moral values. In searching for a wider cultural context of these local concerns, the article considers individualism as a conflict discourse that structures the social and moral meanings of disputes. Further, it considers the larger significance of a cultural conception of society that disparages the role of plaintiff. The theme throughout is the relationship between equality and hierarchy envisioned by those whose worldview is the subject of the article.
