Micro and macro sociological causes of violent atrocities

Authors

  • Randall Collins

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7458/SPP2013712327

Abstract

One form of cruelty arises from ritually bounded social groups, where altruistic morality does not extend beyond the boundaries of one’s own enclave, and deliberate public cruelty to enemies is a ritual of group solidarity. Ritualized public displays of cruelty upon helpless victims are most strongly institutionalized in societies which combine hierarchic stratification with strongly ritualized group membership. Cruelty returns in its second form, bureaucratic callousness, through the impersonal structure of modern warfare and the exercise of organizational power.

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Published

2013-02-07

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Section

Artigos