ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the inherent complexity of social norms in Egyptian society as they were manifested in the late monarchy period and under the leadership of Gamal Abdel Nasser and Sadat Mubarak. It discusses certain prevalent values, particularly those that reflect the problematics of "duality." The chapter examines the rhythm of change in the norms and its relation to general social and economic developments. The most salient points of controversy concerning Egyptian society is the seeming contradiction between cooperativeness and atomism. Having been goaded by kinship norms into social involvement and dependence, the individual becomes impaled on the prongs of public intrusion. By far the most effective and recurrent form of social control is kalam al-nas, the informative whispers communicated at the speed of "fire spreading in a dry field." The second half of the twentieth century has witnessed tremendous forces of change. The Nasser regime revolutionized the social order and opened channels for social mobility through government-directed initiative.
