The Social Production of Indifference
Exploring the Symbolic Roots of Western Bureaucracy
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Published:20th Feb '92
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£36.99(9780367717179)
In this fascinating book, Michael Herzfeld argues that 'modern' bureaucratically regulated societies are no more 'rational' or less 'symbolic' than the societies traditionally studied by anthropologists. Drawing primarily on the example of modern Greece and utilizing other European materials, he suggests that we cannot understand national bureaucracies divorced from local-level ideas about chance, personal character, social relationships and responsibility. He points out that both formal regulations and day-to-day bureaucratic practices rely heavily on the symbols and language of the moral boundaries between insiders and outsiders; a ready means of expressing prejudice and of justifying neglect. It therefore happens that societies with proud traditions of generous hospitality may paradoxically produce at the official level some of the most calculated indifference one can find anywhere.
'A small book packed with large insights'.Choice
ISBN: 9780854966387
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 453g
424 pages