ABSTRACT
A large part of this chapter is identical to an essay written by Parsons in 1974, “Some Theoretical Considerations on the Nature and Trends of Change of Ethnicity” (Parsons 1974a), published in a shortened version in 1975 (Parsons 1975d). The paper is the evolution of a series of memoranda written by Parsons for a conference on ethnic problems sponsored by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1972 (Parsons 1972b). Already in 1973, Parsons was thinking of using the text as a chapter for this book (Parsons 1973d). Shortly after it was published, he modified it to make it fit in the project (Parsons 1975b). The chapter was subsequently dropped from the table of contents. In 1978, however, Parsons decided to include again a slightly modified version of the text, writing a new introductory statement (Parsons 1978d). After having finished the chapter on the economy, he decided that the chapter on ethnicity fit “very well” with the new plan, that included by then a second chapter on the Gemeinschaft complex (Parsons 1978h). However, he never completed the revision of the chapter that he had planned to make fully consistent with the overall design of the book (Parsons 1978i).—Editor
Early in this book, it was announced that two primary axes of the organization and location of potential cleavage and conflict would figure prominently in our analysis. One was social class, which centrally concerns the economy and was important in the subject of the last chapter. The other was “ethnicity,” which will be the primary point of reference for the present chapter and partially the one which follows. The perhaps peculiar phrase “point of reference” is used here because the ethnicity complex, and more generally the Gemeinschaft complex, are indeed complex.
