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"Cosmopolitans" and "Locals" in Contemporary Community Politics

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Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science Volume 31 Number 2 Article 20 1964 "Cosmopolitans" and "Locals" in Contemporary Community Politics Daniel J. Elazar University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Douglas St. Angelo Florida State University, Tallahassee Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/jmas Part of the American Politics Commons Recommended Citation Elazar, D. J., & St. Angelo, D. (1964). "Cosmopolitans" and "Locals" in Contemporary Community Politics. Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science, Vol. 31 No.2, 171-178. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/jmas/vol31/iss2/20 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at University of Minnesota Morris Digital Well. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science by an authorized editor of University of Minnesota Morris Digital Well. For more information, please contact [email protected]. POLITICAL SCIENCE "Cosmopolitans" and "Locals" in Contemporary Community Politics DANIEL J. ELAZAR and DOUGLAS ST. ANGELO University of Minnesota, Minneapolis and Florida State University, Tallahassee Numerous products of recent social science research use the cosmopolitan-local concept to distinguish between have revealed the reemergence of what seems to be a individual influentials in the local community, in his study traditional pattern in American history, the lack of class of "Patterns of Influence: Local and Cosmopolitan In­ consciousness in the political behavior of most Ameri­ fluentials." In that study he applied a non-class oriented cans (Banfield 1961, Coleman 1957, Rogoff 1951: 406- typology to study the influence of mass communications 420, Rogoff 1953: 347-357, Warner, et al. , 1949).1 on patterns of interpersonal influence in "Rovere," a city While this lack of class consciousness by no means pre­ of 11,000 on the Eastern seaboard. There, in an attempt cludes the more subtle influences of socio-economic class to identify types of people regarded as variously influential on matters political, it does limit the usefulness of the by their fellows," Merton first attempted to use the more accepted class divisions developed by sociologists and traditional analysis and was forced to seek other tools: anthropologists in the 1930's and 1940's in understand­ "Where [our] first classification had dealt with phases ing the patterns of community politics (Lynd 1937, Par­ in the cycle of personal influence, the second was in sons 1953: 92-128, Warner 1949). American society is terms of influentials' orientation toward local and larger one in which the great majority of its members identify social structures .. and the ways in which [their] in­ themselves or are identified with the middle class (Par­ fluence was exercised. With the emergence of the con­ sons 1953: 92-128, Rogoff 1951: 406-420, Riesman cepts of local and cosmopolitan influentials, a number of 1953, Warner, et al. 1949, Whyte 1953). Furthermore, new uniformities at once came to light . Such seem­ those who are identified with the upper and lower classes ingly diverse matters as geographic mobility, participa­ generally play limited political roles, either by choice or tion in new works of personal relations and in voluntary organizations, the translation of influence-potentials into because they are excluded from much of the framework influence-operations, patterns of communications behav­ of community political life (Baltzell 1957: 172-85, Corey ior - all these were found to be expressions of these 1945: 1-20, Hyman 1957: 426-442, Lynd 1937, Rogoff major orientations toward the local comunity: orienta­ 1953: 347-357, Straetz 1958). Indeed the very breadth tions ranging from virtually exclusive concern with the of the middle class - a consequence of the widespread local area to central concern with the great world outside." popular identification with middle class status and the be­ havior patterns which accompany it - limits its potential The concept was further refined when Alvin W. internal homogeneity, further weakening the accepted Gouldner (1958) applied it in a similar manner in his categorization of socio-economic class as a tool for politi­ study of academicians' latent social roles. In that study cal analysis. he found that two types of individual cosmopolitans, Some of the limitations of class analysis in political "outsiders" and "empire builders," and four types of research at the community level have been recognized by locals (the dedicated, the true bureaucrat, the home­ a number of contemporary social theorists, who have guard, and the elders) could be distinguished in terms of substituted the "cosmopolitan" - "local" distinction as an three variables : their commitment to professional skills analytical tool. and values, their loyalty to the organization, and their The cosmopolitan-local division was first introduced reference group orientations. Gouldner also found into American social theory by Carle Zimmerman marked differences between cosmopolitans and locals in (1938) in his studies of rural communities, primarily in terms of their influence, participation in the "commun­ Minnesota. Zimmerman, in turn, freely adapted the con­ ity," their acceptance of organizational values, and their cept from the classic works of Ferdinand Toennies, who informal relations with their colleagues. talked about Gemeinschaf t and Gesellschaf t as the two The authors' research in the field of community poli­ fundamental forms of community organization in the tics in a number of Western, Midwestern, and Southern European society he knew. Zimmerman spoke of whole communities has lead them to posit the usefulness of the communities as being "cosmopolitan" or "local", much cosmopolitan-local distinction, with some modification, as Toennies thought of communities as either being or­ as extremely valuable in analysing patterns of community ganized on traditional (i.e. "folk") lines or as products of conflict and cleavage. 2 Rather than consider the concept post-traditional (i.e. "modern") society. Robert K. Merton (1957) was apparently the first to 2 The ideas presented in this paper are based on conclusions drawn from studies of federal-local relations in Dubois County, ' Citations of standard sources are listed by author's name in Indiana; Benton, Arkansas; and Lafayette, Georgia; referenda the body of the text and more fully in the bibliography at the end cases in Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee and Blue of the article. Isiand, Illinois; and community political surveys in East Moline, Proceedings, Volume Thirty-one, No. 2, 1964 171 as applying exclusively to whole communities on one munity as a whole. While he almost invariably works out­ hand or single individuals on the other, it is suggested side of his neighborhood, his primary identification is not that the cosmopolitan-local distinction may be applied to job-centered but is focused on home, block, and church relatively large population aggregates within the local ( or sometimes on his children's school with its "Little community to indicate basic divisions in attitude and League" baseball team.) His ties with the wider com­ behavior that are delineated in terms of their respective munity are secondary, indirect, and made evident only on reference groups. Furthermore, the concept can be of use infrequent occasions (in certain types of elections, during in distinguishing differences in community outlook among the high school basketball season, or when a community­ those who are rooted in the interpersonal networks of their wide political issue appears to threaten him.) Further­ local community as well as to distinguish, as Merton and more, the local is not normally socially mobile and con­ Gouldner do, between those who are so rooted and those sequently is not propelled to change his neighborhood who are not. When so applied, the cosmopolitan-local orientation. One might expect factory works, farmers, distinction can be a valuable tool for the identification of neighborhood businessmen, elementary school teachers, attitudes and values within a community, particularly as and the like to be locals. they affect community-wide political issues either based At the other end of the social scale, certain members on existing community cleavages or which provoke new of the upper class who have long since "arrived" and are community conflicts ( a classification which includes al­ now concerned only with life in their immediate social most all overt attempts at gaining community-wide-con­ set are also locals in terms of their community involve­ sent to public support for economic development or so­ ment. While it is apparent that members of the upper cial and institutional change.) 3 middle class are more likely to be cosmopolitans and Simply defined, a "cosmopolitan" within the local com­ members of the lower middle class, more likely to be munity is one who is extensively involved in the eco­ locals, the distinction cuts across even subclass lines such nomic, social, and political life of the community as a as these as the existence of upper class locals and work­ whole on a day-to-day basis. "Involvement" in this sense ing class cosmopolitans ( often in the labor movement) means identification as well as activity. While the proto­ indicates. type cosmopolitan is likely to be reasonably active in In sum, the difference between cosmopolitans and lo­ community life, the cosmopolitan group will include cals within any community rests on fundamental differ­
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