Moral Passage: The Symbolic Process in Public Designations of Deviance

Author(s): Joseph R. Gusfield

Source: Social Problems, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Autumn, 1967), pp. 175-188
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society for the Study of Social
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 Moral Passage 175

thereare individualstereotypic ideas policies which theymade. In short,

whichare held by some,but not all, they argued that commercially em-
sightedpersons; but that the idea of ployable blindpersonshad to be placed
a stereotypeof theblind,in thesense in shelteredworkshopsbecausecom-
of an aggregateof misconceptions,mercialemployers refusedtohirethem.
simplydoes not exist.That thereare
particularstereotypic ideas about the SUMMARY
blindis clear; it is equallyclear that
theseideasare notnearlyso pervasive, This paperhas described an instance
elaborate,and rigidas workers forthe of goal displacement and analyzedtwo
blind would have us believethemto consequenceswhich this processhas
be. had. The firstconcernedtheeffects of
One explanationfor the develop- goal discrepancies upon the original
mentof increasingly unrealisticideas problemof employment of the blind;
aboutthe feelingsof sightedpersons and the secondconcernedthe impli-
towardthe blind is thatsuch beliefs cationsof thesediscrepancies forthe
servedto minimizethe strainswhich beliefsystems of workersfortheblind
accompanied thediscrepancies between about the blind,the feelingsof the
officialand operativegoals. By con- generalpublic towardthe blind,and
vincingthemselves, and others,of the thebestmeansbywhichto resolvethe
existenceof the stereotype, it was plightof the blind. Changesin these
possiblefor workersforthe blind to beliefsystems wereinterpreted as re-
accountto themselves and othersfor sponses to ideologicalstrainswhich
the disparitiesbetweentheir official werecreatedby discrepancies between
goals and the effects of the to
day day official
and goals.
operative

MORAL PASSAGE: THE SYMBOLIC PROCESS IN

PUBLIC DESIGNATIONS OF DEVIANCE

JOSEPH R. GUSFIELD
ofIllinois
University
The fact of public affirmation of a norm throughlaw and governmentaction
expressesthe public worthof one sub-culturevis-a-visothers.Because differentforms
of deviance affectthat normativestatus in different ways, they incur different
re-
sponses fromthe designators.Three formsof deviance are disinguished:repentant,
sick, and enemy.One formthreatensthe public affirmation of the norm more than
another.The public definitionof deviance undergoes changes from one form to
another,as illustratedin issues of drinkingcontrol.Where consensuson the norm
is lacking and deviantsbecome enemies,movementsfor legal restrictionsare most
likely. It is not the frequencyof deviant acts but the symbolicimportof deviance
for the statusof the normwhich is determinative of thesereactions.

on deviantbe- it on theanalysisof publicreactions

Recentperspectives in
havior have focusedattentionaway labellingdeviantsas "outsiders."1 This
fromtheactorand his actsand placed 1 Howard S. Becker,
Outsideris:Studies

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176 SOCIAL PROBLEMS

perspective formsthe background for society.In support oftheiracts,limited

thepresentpaper.In it I will analyze and specific groupinterests are denied
the implicationswhich definingbe- whilea publicand societalinterest is
havioras devianthas for the public daimed.3Actsof government "commit
designators. Severalformsof deviance the groupto actionor to perform co-
will be distinguished, each of which ordinatedacts for generalwelfare."4
has a different kindof significance for This representational characterof gov-
the designators. The symbolicimport ernmental officials
and theiractsmakes
of eachtype,I argue,leadsto differentit possibleforthemnot onlyto influ-
public responsestowardthe deviant ence the allocationof resourcesbut
and helps accountfor the historical also to definethe public normsof
changesoftenfoundin treatment of morality and to designatewhichacts
such delinquentsas alcoholics,drug violate them.In a pluralisticsociety
addicts,andother"criminals," changes thesedefining and designating actscan
which involve a passage from one becomemattersof politicalissue be-
moralstatusto another. cause theysupportor rejectone or
anotherof the competingand con-
INSTRUMENTAL AND SYMBOLIC culturalgroupsin the society.
flicting
FUNCTIONS OF LAW2 Let us beginwitha distinction be-
Agentsof government are the only tweeninstrumental and symbolic func-
personsin modernsocietieswho can tionsof legal and governmental acts.
legitimately claimto represent thetotal We readilyperceivethatacts of offi-
cials,legislativeenactments, and court
in the Sociology of Deviance, Glencoe: The
Free Press, 1963, Chap. 1. A similar view decisions often affect behavior in an
is presentedin John Kitsuse, "Societal Re- instrumental mannerthrougha direct
action to Deviant Behavior," Social Prob- influence on theactionsof people.The
lems, 9 (Winter, 1962), pp. 247-56; Kai Labor RelationsAct and the
Wagner
Erikson, "Sociology of Deviance," in E.
Acthavehad considerable
McDonagh and J. Simpson, editors,Social Taft-Hartley
Problems, New York: Holt, Rinehart and impacton the conditions of collective
Winston, Inc., 1965, pp. 457-464, p. 458. bargaining in theUnitedStates.Tariff
2 The material of this section is more
legislation directlyaffects
thepricesof
fully discussed in my book Symbolic Cru- commodities. The
sade: StatusPolitics and the AmericanTem- import instrumental
perance Movement, Urbana: Universityof function of suchlaws lies in theiren-
Illinois Press, 1963, esp. Chap. 7. forcement; unenforced theyhavelittle
3 See the analysis of power as infused effect.
with collectivegoals in Parsons' criticismof
C. Wright Mills, The Power Elite: Talcott Symbolic aspectsof law and govern-
Parsons, "The Distribution of Power in ment do not dependon enforcement
American Society," World Politics, 10 fortheireffect. Theyare symbolic in a
(October, 1957), p. 123, 144. [See his sense close to that used in literary
book, Structureand Process, Glencoe, Illi- The symbolic act"invitescon-
nois: Free Press, 1960.] analysis.
4 FrancisX. Sutton,"Representationand sideration ratherthanovertreaction."'5
the Nature of Political Systems,"Compara- There is a dimension of meaningin
tive Studies in Societyand History,2 (Oc- symbolic behaviorwhichis not given
tober, 1959), pp. 1-10. In this paper in its immediate and manifest
Sutton shows that in some primitivesocie- signifi-
ties, political officialsfunction chieflyas 5 Phillip Wheelwright, The Burning
to othertribesratherthan as
representatives Fountain, Bloomington:Indiana University
law enforcersor policy-makers. Press, 1964, p. 23.

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 Moral Passage 177

cancebut in whattheactionconnotes labelled such institutionalized yet

for the audiencethat views it. The illegaland deviantbehaviorthe "pat-
symbol"has acquireda meaningwhich ternedevasionof norms."Suchevasion
is addedto itsimmediate intrinsic
sig- occurswhen law proscribesbehavior
nificance."6 The use of the wine and whichnevertheless occursin a recurrent
waferin theMass or theimportance of socially organized manner and is
thenationalflagcannotbe appreciated seldompunished.8 The kindsof crimes
withoutknowingtheirsymbolic mean- we are concernedwith here quite
ing fortheusers.In analyzinglaw as clearlyfall into this category.Gam-
symbolicwe are orientedless to be- bling,prostitution, abortion, andpublic
havioralconsequences as a meansto a drunkenness are all commonmodesof
fixedend; moreto meaningas an act, behavioralthoughlaws existdesignat-
a decision, a gesture importantin itself. ing themas prohibited. It is possible
An actionof a governmental agent to see suchsystematic evasionas func-
takeson symbolicimportas it affects tioningto minimizeconflicts between
the designationof public norms.A culturesby utilizinglaw to proclaim
courtroom decisionor a legislativeact one set of normsas public morality
is a gesturewhichoftenglorifies the and to use anotherset of normsin
valuesof one groupand demeansthose actually controlling thatbehavior.
of another.In theirrepresentational While patternedevasionmay per-
character, governmental actionscan be formsuchharmonizing functions, the
seen as ceremonialand ritualperfor- passageof legislation, the actsof offi-
mances,designatingthe contentof cials,and decisionsof judgesneverthe-
publicmorality. Theyarethestatementless have a significance as gesturesof
of what is acceptablein the public public affirmation. First,the act of
interest.Law can thusbe seenas sym- public affirmation of a norm often
bolizingthepublicaffirmation of social persuadeslistenersthatbehaviorand
idealsand normsas wellas a meansof normare consistent. The existenceof
direct social control.This symbolic law quietsand comforts thosewhose
dimensionis given in the statement,interests and sentiments are embodied
promulgation, or announcement of law in it.9Second,publicaffirmation of a
unrelated to itsfunction in influencing 8
behaviorthrough Robin Williams, American Society,
enforcement.
New York: A. A. Knopf, 1960, pp. 372-96.
It has longbeenevidentto students Hyman Rodman's analysis of "lower-class
of government and law thatthesetwo value stretch"suggestsyet anotherambigu-
functions, instrumental and symbolic, ity in the conceptof norm. He found that
in Trinidad among lower-classrespondents
may often be separatedin morethan that both marriage and non-legal marital
an analyticalsense. Many laws are union are normativelyaccepted,
although
honoredas muchin the breachas in marriage is preferred. Hyman Rodman,
performance.7 Robin Williams has "Illegitimacyin the CaribbeanSocial Struc-
ture," American Sociological Review, 31
6 Talcott Parsons, The Social System, (October, 1966), pp. 673-683.
Glencoe: The Free Press, 1954, p. 286. 9 Edelman, op. cit., Chap. 2. The author
7 MurrayEdelman has shown this in his refersto this as a process of political qui-
analysis of the discrepancybetween legis- escence.While Edelman's symbolicanalysis
lative actionand administrative
agencyoper- is close to mine, his emphasis is on the
ation. MurrayEdelman, The SymbolicUses reassurancefunctionof symbolsin relation
of Politics, Urbana: Universityof Illinois to presumedinstrumentalaffects.My anal-
Press, 1964. ysis stressesthe conflictover symbolsas a

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178 SOCIAL PROBLEMS

moralnormdirectsthe majorinstitu- flict. The designatinggesturesare

tions of the societyto its support. dramatistic events,"sinceit invitesone
Despitepatterned practicesof abortion to consider thematter of motivesin a
in the UnitedStates,obtainingabor- perspective that,being developedin
tionsdoes requireaccessto a subter- theanalysisof drama,treatslanguage
raneansocial structure and is much and thoughtprimarilyas modes of
more difficult than obtainingan ap- action."'12For this reasonthe desig-
pendectomy. There are instrumentalnationof a wayof behavioras violat-
functions to law even wherethereis ing public normsconfersstatusand
patterned evasion. honoron thosegroupswhosecultures
A thirdimpactof publicaffirmationare followedas the standardof con-
is theone thatmostinterests us here. ventionality, andderogates thosewhose
The factof affirmation through acts of cultures are considered deviant. My
law and governmentexpressesthe analysisof the AmericanTemper-
publicworthof one set of norms,of ance movementhas shown how the
one sub-culturevis-a-visthose of issue of drinkingand abstinencebe-
others.It demonstrates whichcultures camea politically significantfocusfor
havelegitimacy andpublicdomination,the conflictsbetweenProtestant and
and whichdo not. Accordingly it en- Catholic,ruraland urban,nativeand
enhancesthe social statusof groups immigrant, middle class and lower
carryingthe affirmedculture and class in American society.The politi-
degradesgroupscarrying that which is cal conflict lay in the efforts of an
condemnedas deviant. We have abstinentProtestantmiddle class to
arguedelsewherethatthe significancecontrolthe publicaffirmation of mo-
of Prohibition in theUnitedStateslay ralityin drinking.Victoryor defeat
less in itsenforcement thanin thefact were consequentlysymbolicof the
thatit occurred.10 Analysisof the en- statusandpowerof thecultures oppos-
forcement of Prohibition law indicates ing each other.13 Legal affirmationor
thatit was oftenlimitedby the un- rejectionis thusimportant in whatit
willingness of Dry forcesto utilizeall symbolizes as wellor insteadof whatit
theirpoliticalstrength forfearof stir- controls.Even if thelawwas broken, it
ring intensive opposition. Great satis- was clear whose law it was.
factionwas gained fromthe passage
and maintenanceof the legislation DEVIANT NONCONFORMITY AND
itself.1 DESIGNATORREACTION

Irrespective of its instrumental ef- In Durkheim's analysisof theindig-

fects,publicdesignation of morality is nant and hostileresponseto norm-
itselfan issuegenerative of deep con- violation,all proscribedactions are
process of importanceapart from instru- 12 Kenneth Burke, A Grammarof Mo-
mental effects. tives, New York: Prentice-Hall,1945, p.
10 Gusfield,op. cit., pp. 117-126. 393. Burke's writingshave been the strong-
11 JosephGusfield,"Prohibition:The est influenceon the mode of analysis pre-
Impact of Political Utopianism," in John sented here. Two other writers, whose
Braeman, editor, The 1920's Revisited, works have been influential,themselvesin-
Columbus: Ohio State University Press, fluencedby Burke,are ErvingGoffmanand
forthcoming;Andrew Sinclair, The Era of Hugh D. Duncan.
Excess, New York: Harper Colophon 18 Gusfield,Symbolic Crusade, op. cit.,
Books,1964,Chap.10, pp. 13-14. Chap. 5.

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 Moral Passage 179

threatsto theexistence of thenorm.14 chronicalcoholicmaywell agreethat

Once we separatethe instrumentalbothhe and his society wouldbe better
fromthe symbolicfunctions of legal ifhe couldstaysober.In bothcasesthe
and governmental designation of devi- normtheyhave violatedis itselfun-
ants,however, we can questionthisas- questioned.Theirdeviationis a moral
sumption.We can look at norm- lapse,a fallfroma graceto whichthey
violationfromthe standpointof its aspire.The homosexualwho seeks a
effectson thesymbolic ratherthanthe psychiatrist to rid himselfof his habit
instrumental characterof the norm. has definedhis actionssimilarlyto
Our analysisof patternedevasionof thosewho have designatedhim as a
normshas suggested thata law weakin deviant.Thereis a consensusbetween
its instrumental functions maynever- the designatorand the deviant;his
theless performsignificant symbolic repentance confirms thenorm.
functions. Unlikehumanlimbs,norms Repentance and redemption seemto
do notnecessarily atrophy through dis- go hand-in-hand in courtand church.
use. Standardsof charity, mercy,and Sykesand Matza have describedtech-
justicemaybe dishonored everydayyet niquesof neutralization whichjuvenile
remainimportant statements of whatis delinquientsoftenuse with enforce-
publiclyapprovedas virtue.The sexual mentagencies.
behaviorof the humanmale and the
humanfemaleneed not be a copyof The juvenile delinquentwould appear to
be at least partially committedto the
the sociallysanctionedrules. Those dominant social order in that he fre-
rulesremainas important affirmations quentlyexhibitsguilt or shame when he
of an acceptablecode, even though violatesits proscriptions,accordsapproval
to certainconformingfiguresand distin-
theyareregularly breached. Theirroles
guishesbetweenappropriateand inappro-
as ideals are not threatened by daily priate targetsfor his deviance.15
behavior.In analyzing theviolationof
normswe will look at theimplicationsA showof repentance is also used,say
of differentformsof devianceon the Sykes and Matza, to soften theindigna-
characterof the norm itself. tion of law enforcement agents. A
symbolic
The pointhereis thatthedesignators recentstudyof police behaviorlends
of deviantbehaviorreactdifferently to supportto this.Juveniles apprehended
by the police receivedmore lenient
different norm-sustaining implications
of an act. We can classifydeviantbe- treatment, includingdismissal,if they
haviorfromthisstandpoint. appearedcontrite and remorseful about
theirviolationsthanif theydid not.
The Repentant Deviant This difference in the postureof the
The recklessmotorist oftenadmits deviant accounted formuchof thedif-
the legitimacyof trafficlaws, even ferentialtreatment favoringmiddle-
though he has broken them. The class "youngsters" as against lower-
class"delinquents."16
14 Emile Durkheim, The Division of
Labor in Society, trans. George Simpson, 15 Gresham Sykes and David Matza,
Glencoe: The Free Press, 1947, especially "Techniques of Neutralization:A Theoryof
at pp. 96-103. For a similarview see Lewis Delinquency," American Sociological Re-
Coser, "Some Functions of Deviant Be- view, 22 (December, 1957), pp. 664-670,
havior and Normative Flexibility,"Amer- at p. 666.
ican Journal of Sociology, 68 (September, 16 IrvingPiliavin and ScottBriar,"Police
1962), pp. 172-182. Encounterswith Juveniles,"AmericanJour-

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 180 SOCIAL PROBLEMS

The SickDeviant whichattendthe healthywho act the

Actswhichrepresent an attackupon sameway.19
a normare neutralized Deviance designations, as we shall
by repentance.
The openadmission of repentance con- show below, are not fixed. Theymay
firmsthesinner'sbeliefin thesin.His shift from one form to another over
threatto thenormis removedand his time.Defininga behaviorpatternas
violationhas leftthenormintact.Acts one causedby illnessmakesa hostile
whichwe can perceiveas thoseof sick responsetowardthe actorillegitimate
and diseasedpeople are irrelevant to and inappropriate. "Illness"is a social
the norm;theyneitherattacknor de- designation, byno meansgivenin the
fendit. The use of morphine nature of medical fact. Even left-
byhos- handedness
is still seen as morally
pital patientsin severepain is not
deviant in many countries. Hence the
designatedas deviantbehavior.Senti-
mentsof publichostility and the ap- effort to define a practice as a conse-
of quence of illnessis itselfa matter of
paratus enforcement agenciesarenot
mobilizedtowardthe morphine-user.conflict anda politicalissue.
His use is notperceivedas a violation
The EnemyDeviant
of the normagainstdruguse, but as
an uncontrolled act, not likelyto be Writingabouta Bostonslumin the
recurrent.17 1930's,WilliamF. Whyteremarks:
While designations of actionresult- The policemanis subject to sharplycon-
ing fromsicknessdo not threaten the flictingpressures. On one side are the
norm, significantconsequencesflow written"good people" of EasternCity,who have
their moral judgmentsinto law
fromsuch definitions. TalcottParsons and demand through their newspapers
has pointedoutthatthedesignation of that the law be enforced.On the other
a personas ill changestheobligations side are the people of Cornerville,who
whichothershave towardthe person have differentstandardsand have built
and his obligationstoward them.s8 up an organization whose perpetuation
depends upon the freedomto violate the
Parsons'description sensitizes
us to the law.20
wayin whichthesickpersonis a differ-
ent socialobjectthanthehealthyone. Whyte'sis one of severalstudies
He has now becomean objectof wel- thathavepointedoutthediscrepancies
betweenmiddle-classmoralitiesem-
fare,a personto be helpedrather than
bodied in law and lower-classmo-
punished.Hostile sentiments toward
ralities which differsharply from
sickpeoplearenotlegitimate. The sick
them.21 In Cornerville, gamblingwas
personis not responsible forhis acts.
He is excusedfromthe consequences 19 A somewhatsimilardistinctionas that
presented here can be found in Vilhelm
nal of Sociology, 70 (September, 1964), Aubertand Sheldon Messinger,"The Crim-
pp. 206-214. inal and the Sick," in V. Aubert,The Hid-
17 This of course does not mean thatthe den Society,New York: The Bedminister
patientusing morphinemay not become an Press, 1965, pp. 25-54.
addict. 20 William F. Whyte, Street-Corner
18 Talcott Parsons and Ren6e Fox, "Ill- Society, Chicago: University of Chicago
ness, Therapyand the Modern Urban Fam- Press, 2nd edition, 1955, p. 138.
ily," Journal of Social Issues, 8 (1952), 21 See William Westley's analysisof the
pp. 31-44. differencesbetween the moralityshared by

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 Moral Passage 181

seen as a "respectable"crime,just as ture againstculture,in the effortto

antitrustbehaviormay be in other determinewhose morals are to be
levelsof thesocialstructure. In Ameri- designated as deserving of publicaffir-
can society,conflictsbetweensocial mation.
classesare oftenalso culturalconflicts It is when the deviantis also an
reflectingmoral differences. Coinci- enemyand his devianceis an aspectof
denceof ethnicand religiousdistinc- group culturethat the conventional
tionswithclassdifferences accentuates normis mostexplicitly and energeti-
suchconflicts betweengroupvalues. callyattacked.When those oncedesig-
In thesecases, the validityof the natedas devianthaveachievedenough
publicdesignation is itselfat issue.The politicalpower theymay shiftfrom
publicly-defined deviant is neitherre- disobedience to an effort to changethe
pentantnorsick,butis insteadan up- designationitself.This has certainly
holderof an oppositenorm.He accepts happenedin thecivilrightsmovement.
his behavioras properand derogates Behaviorviewed as deviantin the
the public norm as illegitimate. He segregationist societyhas in manyin-
refusesto internalize the publicnorm stancesbeen movedintothe realmof
into his self-definition. This is espe- theproblematic, now subjectto politi-
cially likelyto occurin instancesof cal processesof conflict and compro-
"'businesscrimes."The buyersees his mise.
actionas legitimate economicbehavior When the deviantand the desig-
and resistsa definition of it as immoral natorperceiveeach otheras enemies,
and thus prohibitable. The issue of and thedesignator's poweris superior
"off-track" bettingillustrates one area to thatof thedeviant, we havedomina-
in whichclashesof culturehave been tion withouta corresponding legiti-
salient. macy.Anythingwhich increasesthe
The designation of culturally legiti- powerof the deviantto organizeand
matebehavioras deviantdependsupon attackthenormis thusa threatto the
thesuperior powerand organization of social dominancesymbolizedin the
the designators. The conceptof con- affirmation of the norm.Under such
ventionin thisarea,as Thrasymachusconditions theneed of thedesignators
definedJustice forSocrates, is thewill to strengthen and enforce thenormsis
of the stronger. If the deviantis the great.The struggle overthesymbolof
politicallyweaker group, then the socialpowerand statusis focusedon
designation is opento thechangesand the questionof the maintenance or
contingencies of politicalfortunes. It changeof thelegalnorm.The threat to
becomesan issue of politicalconflict,themiddleclassin theincreased
politi-
ranginggroupagainstgroupand cul- cal powerof Cornerville is notthatthe
Cornervilleresidentwill gamblemore;
the lower class and the police in contrastto
that of the courts over such matters as he alreadydoesgamblewithgreatfre-
gambling, prostitution,and sexual perver- quency.The threat is thatthelaw will
sion. The courts take a sternerview of come to acceptthe of gam-
morality
gamblersand prostitutesthan do the police, blingand treatit as a busi-
who take a sterner view of the sexual legitimate
offender.William Westley, "Violence and ness. If this happens,Boston is no
the Police," AmericanJournalof Sociology, longera citydominated bymiddle-class
59 (July, 1953), pp. 34-42. Yankees but becomesone dominated

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182 SOCIAL PROBLEMS

by lower-classimmigrants, as many made earlier.22Colonial legislation

thinkhas actually in
happened Boston. wasaimedmainly at controllingtheinn
The maintenance of a normwhichde- through licensing systems. While
finesgambling as deviantbehavior thus drunkenness occurred,and drinking
symbolizes themaintenance of Yankee was frequent, the rigidnatureof the
socialand politicalsuperiority.Its dis- Colonial society,in both North and
appearanceas a public commitmentSouth,kept drinkingfrombecoming
wouldsymbolize theloss of thatsupe- an important socialissue.23
riority.
The Repentant Drinker
The CynicalDeviant The definition of thedrinkeras an
The professional criminalcommits objectof social shamebeginsin the
acts whose designationas deviantis earlynineteenth centuryand reaches
supportedby wide social consensus. fulldevelopment in thelate1820'sand
The burglar,the hiredmurderer, the early 1830's. A wave of growthin
arsonist, the kidnapper prey on Temperance organizationsin this
all
victims.Whiletheymayuserepentance periodwas sparkedby the conversion
or illnessas strategies to managethe of drinkingmen to abstinence under
impressions of enforcers, theirbasic the stimulusof evangelicalrevival-
orientationis self-seeking,to get ism.24Throughdrinking men joining
aroundthe rules.It is forthisreason together to takethepledge,a normof
thattheirbehavioris nota greatthreat abstinence and sobriety emergedas a
to thenormsalthough it callsforsocial definitionof conventionalrespect-
management and repression.It does ability.They soughtto controlthem-
not threatenthe legitimacyof the selvesandtheirneighbors.
normative order. The normof abstinence and sobriety
replacedtheacceptedpatterns of heavy
DRINKING AS A CHANGING FORM drinkingcountenancedin the late
OF DEVIANCE eighteenth and earlynineteenth cen-
tury. By the 1870's ruraland small-
Analysisof effortsto definedrinking
townAmericahad defined middle-class
as deviantin the UnitedStateswill
moralsto includethe Dry attitude.
illustrate
theprocessbywhichdesigna-
tionsshift.The legal embodiment This definition had littleneedforlegal
of
embodiment. It couldbe enunciated in
attitudestowarddrinkingshowshow
attacks on the drunkard which assumed
culturalconflictsfindtheirexpression
in the symbolicfunctions thathe sharedthe normative pattern
of law. In
of thosewhoexhorted himto be better
the160 yearssince1800,we see all our ,x

suggested typesof non-conforming be- 22 The best single account of Temper-

haviorand all the formsof reaction ance activitiesbefore the Civil War is that
the conventional of of JohnKrout, The Origins of Prohibition,
among segments New York: A. A. Knopf,1925.
thesociety. 23 Ibid., Chapters1 and 2; also see Alice
The movement to limitand control Earle, Home Life in Colonial Days, New
personalconsumption of alcoholbegan York: Macmillan and Co., 1937, pp. 148-
in the early nineteenth 149; 156-165.
century,al- 24 Gusfield, Symbolic Crusade, op. cit.,
thoughsome scatteredattempts were pp. 44-51.

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 Moral Passage 183

and to do better.He was a repentant and oratory of religiousmeetings, even

deviant,someoneto be broughtback thoughdevoidof pastors.28
intothe foldbymoralpersuasion and Moral persuasion, ratherthanlegis-
the techniquesof religiousrevival- lation,hasbeenone persistent themein
ism.25 His error was the sin of lapse the designation of the drinker as devi-
froma sharedstandard of virtue."The antand thealcoholicas depraved.Even
Holy Spiritwill not visit,muchless in the depictionsof the miseriesand
will He dwellwithinhe who is under, poverty of thechronicalcoholic,there
the polluting,debasingeffects of in- is a decidedmoralcondemnation which
toxicatingdrink.The stateofheartand has beenthehallmark of theAmerican
mindwhichthis occasionsto him is Temperance movement. Moral persua-
loathsomeand an abomination."26 sionwas ineffective as a deviceto wipe
Moral persuasionthusrestson the out drinking and drunkenness. Heavy
conviction of a consensusbetweenthe drinkingpersistedthroughthe nine-
deviantand the designators. As long teenthcentury and the organizedat-
as theobjectof attackand conversion tempts to convert thedrunkard experi-
is isolatedin individualterms,rather enced much backsliding.29 Neverthe-
thanperceivedas a group,thereis no less,defections fromthe standarddid
senseof his deviantact as partof a not threaten the standard.The public
sharedculture.What is sharedis the definition of respectability matchedthe
normof conventionality; theappealto ideals of the sober and abstaining
the drinkerand the chronicalcoholic people who dominatedthosepartsof
is to repent.WhentheWoman'sAnti- the societywheremoral suasionwas
WhiskeyCrusadeof 1873-1874broke effective. In thelatenineteenth century
out in Ohio, churchwomen placed thoseareasin whichtemperance senti-
theirattention on thetaverns. In many ment was strongest were also those in
Ohio townstheserespectable ladiesset whichlegislationwas mosteasilyen-
up vigils in frontof the tavernand forceable.30
attempted to preventmenfromenter-
The EnemyDrinker
ing justbythefearthattheywouldbe
observed.27 In keepingwiththeevan- The demandforlaws to limitalco-
gelicalmotifin theTemperance move- holic consumptionappears to arise
ment,theWashingtonians, foundedin fromsituations in whichthe drinkers
1848,appealed to drinkersand chronic
28 Krout, op. cit., Chap. 9.
alcoholicswiththeemotional trappings 29 See the table of consumptionof alco-
holic beverages,1850-1957, in Mark Keller
25 Ibid., pp. 69-86. and Vera Efron,"SelectedStatisticson Alco-
26 Temperance Manual (no publisher holic Beverage," reprintedin RaymondMc-
listed, 1836), p. 46. Carthy,editor, Drinking and Intoxication,
27 See the typical account by Mother Glencoe: The Free Press, 1959, p. 180.
Stewart,one of the leaders in the 1873-74 30 JosephRowntreeand ArthurSherwell,
Woman's War on Whiskey, in Eliza D. State Prohibitionand Local Option, Lon-
Steward,Memories of the Crusade, Colum- don: Hodden and Stoughton,1900, using
bus, Ohio: W. G. Hibbard, 2nd edition, both systematicobservationand analysis of
1889, pp. 139-143; also see StandardEncy- Federal tax payments,concluded (p. 253)
clopedia of the Alcohol Problem,6 (West- that ". . . local veto in America has only
erville, Ohio: American Issue Publishing been found operative outside the larger
Co., 1930), pp. 2902-2905. towns and cities."

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 184 SOCIAL PROBLEMS

possesspoweras a definitive socialand native American,middle-classevan-

politicalgroupand,in theircustomarygelical Protestant and the immigrant
habitsand beliefs,denythevalidityof EuropeanCatholicor Lutheran occupy-
abstinencenorms.The persistence of ing the urbanlowerclass-therewas
areasin whichTemperance normswere little room for repentance.By the
leastcontrolling led to the emergence 1850'stheissueof drinking reflecteda
of attempts to embodycontrolin legal generalclashoverculturalvalues.The
measures. The drinker as enemyseems Temperance movement foundalliesin
to be thegreatest stimulus to effortsto its politicaleffortsamongthe nativist
designatehis act as publiclydefined movements.32 The forceand powerof
deviance. the anti-alcohol movements, however,
In its early phase the American were limitedgreatlyby the political
Temperance movement was committedcompositionof the urban electorate,
chiefly to moral persuasion.Efforts to with its high proportionof immi-
achievelegislationgoverningthe sale grants.Thus themovement to develop
and use of alcoholdo notappearuntil legislationemergedin reactionto the
the 1840's. This legislativemovement appearanceof culturalgroupsleastre-
had a close relationship to the im- sponsiveto the normsof abstinence
migration of Irish Catholics and Ger- and sobriety. The veryeffort to turn
man Lutherans intotheUnitedStates such informalnormsinto legal stan-
in this period.These non-evangelicaldards polarizedthe opposingforces
and/ornon-Protestant peoplesmadeup and accentuated thesymbolic importof
a largeproportion of the urbanpoor themovement. Now thattheissuehad
inthe1840'sand 1850's.Theybrought been joined,defeator victorywas a
withthema farmoreaccepting evalua- clear-cutstatementof public domi-
tionof drinking thanhad yetexisted nance.
in the UnitedStates.The tavernand It is a paradoxthatthe mostsuc-
thebeerparlorhad a distinct place in cessful move to eradicate alcohol
the leisureof the Germansand the emerged in a periodwhenAmericawas
Irish. The prominence of this place shifting froma heavy-drinking society,
was intensified bythestarkcharacter of in whichwhiskey wastheleadingform
thedeveloping American slum.31 These of alcohol,to a moderate one,in which
immigrant cultures did not containa beer was replacingwhiskey.Prohibi-
strongtradition of Temperance norms tion came as the culmination of the
whichmighthave made an effectivemovementto reformthe immigrant
appeal to a senseof sin. To be sure, cultures and at theheightof theimmi-
excessivedrunkenness was scorned, but grantinfluxintothe UnitedStates.
neither abstinence norconstant sobriety FollowingtheCivilWar,moralper-
weresupported bythecultural codes. suasionand legislativegoalswereboth
Between these two groups-the partsof themovement againstalcohol.
31 See the accounts of By the 1880's an appeal was made to
drinkinghabits
among Irish and German immigrantsin the urban,immigrant lowerclassesto
Oscar Handlin, Boston's Immigrants,Cam- repentand to imitate thehabitsof the
bridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University
32 Ray
Press, 1941, pp. 191-192, 201-209; Marcus Billington, The ProtestantCru-
Hansen, The Immigrantin American His- sade, 1800-1860, New York: Macmillan,
tory, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard 1938, Chap. 15; Gusfield, Symbolic Cru-
UniversityPress, 1940. sade, op. cit., pp. 55-57.

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 Moral Passage 185

Americanmiddleclass as a routeto abilityin themetropolis therewas no

economicand social mobility. Norms doubtaboutwhoselaw was publicand
of abstinencewere presentedto the whatwayof lifewas beinglabelledas
non-abstainer both as virtueand as opprobrious.
expedience.8" This effortfailed.The After Repeal, as Dry power in
new,and larger,immigration of 1890- Americanpoliticssubsided,the desig-
1915 increasedstillfurther the threat nationof the drinkeras deviantalso
of theurbanlowerclassto the native receded.Publicaffirmation of thetem-
American. perancenormhad changedand withit
The symboliceffectof Prohibition the definitionof the deviant had
legislationmust be kept analyticallychanged.Abstinence was itselfless ac-
separate from its instrumental, enforce- In
ceptable. the 1950's theTemperance
ment side. While the urban middle movement, facedwiththischangein
class did providemuchof the organi- publicnorms,evenintroduced a series
zationalleadershipto the Temperance of placards with the slogan, "It's
and Prohibition movements, thepolit- SmartNot to Drink."
ical strength of the movement in its Despitethisnormative changein the
legislative driveswas in theruralareas public designationof drinkingdevi-
of the UnitedStates.Here,wherethe ance,therehas notbeenmuchchange
problemsof drinking weremostunder in American drinking patterns.Follow-
control, where the norm was relatively ing the Prohibitionperiod the con-
intact,theappealto a struggle against sumptionof alcoholhas not returned
foreigninvasionwas the mostpotent. to its pre-1915high.Beerhas contin-
In theseareas,passage of legislation ued to occupya moreimportant place
was likelyto makesmalldifference in as a sourceof alcohol consumption.
behavior.The continuing polarization "Hard drinkers" are notas commonin
of politicalforcesintothoseof cultural Americatoday as theywere in the
opposition and culturalacceptance dur- nineteenth century.While therehas
ing theProhibition campaigns(1906- beensomeincreasein moderatedrink-
1919), andduringthedriveforRepeal ing,the percentage of adultswho are
(1926-1933), greatlyintensified the abstainers has remainedapproximately
symbolicsignificance of victoryand the same (one-third)forthe past 30
defeat.84 Even if the Prohibition mea- years.Similarly, Dry sentiment has re-
sures were limitedin theirenforce- mainedstable,as measuredby local
In short,
opinionresults.35 theargument
83 William F. Whyte, op. cit., p. 99. over deviance
a designation has been
Whyte has shown this as major attitude
of social work and the settlementhouse largely one of normative dominance,
toward slum-dwellershe studied in the notof instrumental socialcontrol.The
1930's. "The communitywas expected to
process of deviance designationin
adapt itself to the standardsof the settle- needs to be understoodin
ment house." The rationale for adaptation drinking
lay in its effectsin promotingsocial mo- terms of symbols of culturaldominance
bility. ratherthanin the activities of social
84 Although a well-organized Temper- control.
ance movementexisted among Catholics, it
was weakened by the Protestantdrive for 85 See my analysisof Americandrinking
Prohibition: See Joan Bland, Hibernian in the post-Repealera. Gusfield, "Prohibi-
Crusade, Washington,D.C.: Catholic Uni- tion: The Impact of Political Utopianism,"
versityPress, 1951. op. cit.

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186 SOCIAL PROBLEMS

The SickDrinker The soundnessof these fears is

shown by what did happen to the
For mostof thenineteenth century, movement with the rise
the chronicalcoholicas well as the Temperance
of theview thatalcoholismis illness.
less compulsivedrinker was viewedas
It led to new agenciesconcerned with
a sinner.It was not untilafterRepeal
drinking problems. These excluded
(1933) thatchronic alcoholism became
definedas illnessin theUnitedStates. Temperance peoplefromthe circleof
thosewho now definewhatis deviant
Earlieractionstakentowardpromotion in
drinking habits.The NationalCom-
of the welfareof drinkersand alco-
missionon Alcoholism was formedin
holics throughTemperancemeasures
1941 andtheYale Schoolof Alcoholic
restedon the moralsupremacy of ab-
Studiesformedin 1940. They were
stinenceand the demandfor repen-
mannedby medicalpersonnel,social
tance.The userof alcoholcouldbe an
and social scientists,
objectof sympathy, buthis socialsal- workers, people
vationdependedon a willingnessto now alien to thespiritof theabstainer.
of
embracethe normof his exhorters.Problems drinkingwere removed
fromthe churchand placed in the
The designation of alcoholismas sick-
handsof theuniversities and themed-
ness has a different bearingon the ical clinics.The
tendencyto handle
questionof normativesuperiority. It
drinkersthroughprotective and wel-
rendersthebehaviorof thedeviantin-
fare agencies rather than through
differentto the statusof normsen-
policeor clergyhas becomemorefre-
forcingabstinence.
This realizationappears to have quent.
made supporters of Temperanceand "The barestatement that'alcoholism
is a disease'is mostmisleadingsince
Prohibition hostileto effortsto rede-
. . it concealswhatis essential-that
finethe deviantcharacter of alcohol- .
a stepin publicpolicyis beingrecom-
ism.Theydeeplyopposedthe reports
not a scientific an-
of the Committee of Fiftyin the late mended, discovery
nounced."37JohnSeeley'sremarkis
nineteenth century.3"Thesevolumesof an
apt one. Replacement of the norm
reports byscholarsand prominent men
of sin and repentance that of illness
tooka lessmoralistic and a moresocio- by
and therapy removestheonusof guilt
logical and functionalview of the and fromtheact of drink-
saloonand drinking thandid theTem- immorality
ing andthestateof chronic alcoholism.
perancemovement. It replacestheimageof thesinnerwith
36 The Committeeof Fifty,a group of thatof a patient, a personto be helped
prominenteducators,scientists,and clergy-
men sponsoredand directedseveral studies 87 John Seeley, "Alcoholism Is a Dis-
of drinkingand the saloon. Their position ease: Implications for Social Policy," in
as men unaffiliatedto temperanceorganiza- D. Pittmanand C. Snyder,editors,Society,
tions was intended to introduce unbiased Cultureand Drinking Patterns,New York:
investigation,often critical of Temperance John Wiley and Sons, 1962, pp. 586-593,
doctrine.For two of the leading volumes at p. 593. For a descriptionof the varietyof
see John Shaw Billing's, The Physiological definitionsof alcoholism and drunkenness,
Aspects of the Liquor Problem,Boston and as deviant and non-deviant,see the papers
New York: Houghton, Miffin and Co., by Edwin Lemert, "Alcohol, Values and
1903; Raymond Calkins, Substitutes for Social Control" and by Archer Tongue,
the Saloon, Boston and New York: Hough- "What the State Does About Alcohol and
ton, Mifflinand Co., 1903. Alcoholism,"both in the same volume.

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 Moral Passage 187

rather thanto be exhorted. No wonder tion of the behaviorfromone moral

that the Temperancemovementhas statusto another.In analyzingmove-
foundthe workof the Yale School, mentstowardtheredefinition of alco-
and ofteneventheworkof Alcoholics hol use, we have dealt with moral
Anonymous, a threatto itsownmove- crusadeswhich were restrictive and
ment.It has been mostlimitedin its otherswhichwere permissive toward
cooperationwith these organizationsdrinkingand toward "drunkards."
and has attempted to setup otherorga- (We mighthave also used the word
nizations whichmightprovidetheface "alcoholics,"suggestinga less disap-
of Sciencein leaguewiththe toneof provingand more medical perspec-
themovement.38 tive.) In both cases, however,the
The redefinition of the alcoholicas movements soughtto changethepublic
sickthusbrought intopowerbothideas designation.While we are familiar
and organizations antithetical
to the withtherestrictive or enforcing move-
Temperance movement. The norm pro- ments, the permissive or legitimizing
tectedby law and government was no movement mustalso be seenas a prev-
longertheone heldbythepeoplewho alentwayin whichdeviantsthrowoff
had supportedTemperanceand Pro- theonusof theiractionsand avoidthe
hibition.The hostility of Temperance sanctionsassociatedwithimmoralac-
peopleis readilyunderstandable; their tivities.
relativepoliticalunimportance is cru- Evenwherethedeviantsare a small
cial to theirpresentinabilityto make and
politicallypowerlessgroup they
thathostility effective. may nevertheless attemptto protect
themselves by influence over the pro-
MOVEMENTS OF MORAL PASSAGE
cessof designation. The effortto define
In thispaperwe have called atten- themselves as ill is one plausiblemeans
tionto the factthatdeviancedesigna- to thisend. Drug addictionas well as
tionshave histories;thepublicdefini- drunkenness is partiallyundergoing a
tion of behavioras deviantis itself changetowardsuchredefinition.39 This
changeable.It is open to reversalsof occursin leaguewithpowerfulgroups
politicalpower,twistsof publicopin- in society, suchas socialworkers, med-
ion, and the developmentof social ical professionals, or university pro-
movements and moralcrusades.What fessors.The moral passage achieved
is attackedas criminaltodaymaybe herereducesthe sanctions
imposedby
seenas sicknextyearand foughtover
as possiblylegitimate bythenextgen- 39 Many of the writingsof sociologists
eration. interestedin drug addictionhave contained
demandsfor such redefinitions.
Movements to redefinebehaviormay explicit
Becker, op. cit.; Alfred Lindesmith,The
See
eventuate in a moralpassage,a transi- Addict and the Law, Bloomington:Indiana
UniversityPress, 1965, and David Ausubel,
38 The WCTU during the 1950's per-
avoided to Alcoholics Drug Addiction, New York: Random
sistently support
1958. The recentmovementto re-
Anonymous.The Yale School of Alcohol House,
Studies was attacked and derogated in definemarijuana and LSD as legitimateis
Temperance literature.A counter-organiza- partiallysupportedby such writingsbut is
tion, with several prominentpro-Dryscien- more salientlya movementof enemydevi-
tists, developed, held seminars,and issued ants. The activitiesof TimothyLeary,Allen
statementsin opposition to Yale School Ginsberg, and the "hipsters" is the most
publications. vocal expressionof this movement.

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188 SOCIAL PROBLEMS

criminal law and thepublicacceptance use, and the reputedeuphoriceffects

of thedeviantdesignation. connected withit, are viewedby sup-
The "lifting"of a deviantactivity portersof presentlegislation.Com-
to thelevelof a political,publicissue mentingon theclinicplan to permit
is thusa sign thatits moralstatusis medical dispensingof narcoticsto
at stake,thatlegitimacy is a possibility. licensedaddicts,U.S. Commissioner of
Today the moralacceptanceof drink- NarcoticsAnslinger wrote:
ing, marijuanaand LSD use, homo- Thisplanwouldelevatea mostdespi-
sexuality, abortion,and other"vices" cabletradeto theavowedstatusof an
is beingpubliclydiscussed,and move- honorablebusiness,nay,to the statusof
ments championing them have practiceof a time-honored profession;
into and drug addictswould multiply unre-
emerged.Such movements draw
to the irrevocable
themfarmorethanthedeviantsthem- strained, impairment
of the moralfiberand physicalwelfare
selves.Becausetheybecomesymbols of of theAmerican people.40
general cultural attitudes they call out
and per- In thispaperwe have seenthatre-
partisansforbothrepression
mission.The presentdebateoverdrug defining moralcrusadestendsto gen-
addiction lawsin theUnitedStates,for erate strongcounter-movements. The
is carried out between de- deviantas a culturalopponentis a
example,
fendersand opposersof the norm morepotentthreatto the normthan
ratherthan betweenusers and non- is the repentant, or even the sick de-
of
users the drugsinvolved. viant. The threat to the legitimacy of
As themovement forredefinition of the normis a spur to the need for
theaddictas sickhasgrown,themove- symbolic restatement in legal terms.In
mentto strengthen the definition of these instancesof "crimes withoutvic-
addictionas criminalhas responded tims" the legal norm is not the enun-
with increased legal severity. To ciator of a consensus within the com-
usersas sick and the vic- munity. On the contrary, it is when
classifydrug
tims or clients as sufferingfrom consensusis least attainablethat the
"disease"wouldmeana changein the pressureto establishlegal normsap-
agenciesresponsible forreactionfrom pearsto be greatest.
policeenforcement to medicalauthori-
40 and WilliamTomp-
ties. Further,it mightdiminishthe kins,Harry Anslinger
The Trafficin Narcotics,
New York:
moral disapprovalwith which drug FunkandWagnallsCo., Inc.,1953,p. 186.

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