ABSTRACT
Casual treatments of the subject in the literature of sociology tend to assume that the object of mediation is to make the parties aware of the "social norms" applicable to their relationship and to persuade them to accommodate themselves to the "structure" imposed by the norms. From this point of view the difference between a judge and a mediator is simply that the judge orders the parties to conform themselves to the rules, while the mediator persuades them to do so. But mediation is commonly directed, not toward achieving conformity to norms, but toward the creation of the relevant norms themselves. The chapter discusses "primitive" societies, where mediative processes play a prominent role in preserving a functioning social order. A mediational effort might well come into play in any of the various forms of mediation between husband and wife associated with "family counseling" and "marriage therapy.".
