Money, morals, and manners : the culture of the French and American upper-middle class /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Lamont, Michèle, 1957-
Imprint:	Chicago : University of Chicago Press, ©1992.
Description:	1 online resource (xxix, 320 pages) : maps
Language:	English
Series:	Morality and society Morality and society.
Subject:	Middle class -- Moral and ethical aspects -- United States -- Cross-cultural studies. Middle class -- Moral and ethical aspects -- France -- Cross-cultural studies. Social values -- United States -- Cross-cultural studies. Social values -- France -- Cross-cultural studies. Middle class -- Moral and ethical aspects. Social values. France. United States. Cross-cultural studies.
Format:	E-Resource Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/11202172

Hidden Bibliographic Details
Other title:	Money, morals & manners.
ISBN:	9780226922591 0226922596 0226468151 9780226468150 0226468178 9780226468174
Notes:	Spine title: Money, morals & manners. Includes bibliographical references and index. Restrictions unspecified Electronic reproduction. [Place of publication not identified] : HathiTrust Digital Library, 2019. Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 digitized 2019 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve Print version record.
Summary:	Drawing on remarkably frank, in-depth interviews with 160 successful men in the United States and France, Michele Lamont provides a rare and revealing collective portrait of the upper-middle class - the managers, professionals, entrepreneurs, and experts at the center of power in society. Her book is a subtle, textured description of how these men define the values and attitudes they consider essential in separating themselves - and their class - from everyone else. For Lamont, the boundaries of class are not marked by economics alone. She goes beyond crude categories of status and simple measures of taste, wealth, and possessions to reveal the role of moral and cultural distinctions in setting the boundaries between the upper-middle class and those above and below. Central to her analysis - and to the identity of the men she interviewed - is the idea of a virtuous or worthy person: members of the upper-middle class constantly define themselves and others by making distinctions along this moral dimension. There are important differences, however, within the upper-middle class and between national cultures. Living in a cosmopolitan city like New York or Paris is different than living in a more provincial center like Indianapolis or Clermont-Ferrand; those working in the profit sector hold very different values than do those working for nonprofit organizations; and American men place more emphasis on financial success than do their French counterparts, who value personal integrity and cultural refinement more. Unprecedented in its comparative reach, Money, Morals, and Manners is an ambitious and sophisticated attempt to illuminate the nature of social class in modern society. For all those who downplay the importance of unequal social groups, it will be a revelation.
Other form:	Print version: Lamont, Michèle, 1957- Money, morals, and manners. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, ©1992

Table of Contents:

Prologue: Sketching the Landscape: Some Illustrative Vignettes. Cultural Sophistication as a sine qua non. Moral Tales. This-Worldly Worlds
Ch. 1. The Questions and the Stage. Issues and Approaches. Boundaries at Work. Procedures. Interviewing Experience
Ch. 2. The Importance of Being Honest: Keys to Moral Boundaries. "Phonies," Social Climbers, Salauds, and Other Polluting Categories. Moral Character in the Workplace. The Religious Scene. Volunteerism. Conclusion
Ch. 3. The World of Success, Money, and Power: Keys to Socioeconomic Boundaries. A World of Inequality. The Iron Law of Money. Power, Fame, and Glory: The French Definitions of Success. Variations on the Inner Circle. Class, Race, Gender, and Ethnicity. Antisocioeconomic Boundaries. Conclusion
Ch. 4. Most of My Friends Are Refined: Keys to Cultural Boundaries. Against the Philistines. Cultural Exclusion, Brilliance, Expertise, and Other Forms of Intelligence. Self-Actualization. The Cultured World of Exclusion: The Case of "Bad Taste" Intellectuals and Intellectual Subcultures. Exploring Cultural Laxity: The American Case. Conclusion
Ch. 5. Explaining National Differences. National Patterns in Boundary Work. Explaining Differences. Conclusion
Ch. 6. The Nature of Internal Class Boundaries. Social and Cultural Specialists and For-Profit Workers. Trajectories and Seniority in the Upper-Middle Class. Conclusion
Ch. 7. Implications, Contributions, and Unanswered Questions. Class Cultures and the Reproduction of Inequality. Differentiation, Hierarchy, and the Politics of Meaning. Theoretical Reassessments. Synthesis and Agenda
Appendix I: Surveying the French and American Upper-Middle Classes. Introduction. Comparing Social Positions. Comparing Social Groups
Appendix II: The Research Sites. Site Selection. The Four Sites
Appendix III: Research Procedures. Sampling Procedures. Interviewing Procedures. Data Analysis
Appendix IV: Ranking of Respondents on the Cultural, Moral, and Socioeconomic Dimensions.

Money, morals, and manners : the culture of the French and American upper-middle class /

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