The Dignity Culture

Author Ron Bailey does a good job of summarizing a theme of an academic article by Bradley Campbell and Jason Manning.  At the risk of oversimplifying, Campbell and Manning discuss the evolution of conflict and social control.  I will gloss over the "honor" model, to capture the "dignity" culture.
 
"But during the 19th century, most Western societies began the moral transition toward what the authors call dignity cultures, in which all citizens are legally endowed with equal and 'unalienable' rights. In such a culture, one's honor does not depend upon one's reputation. Having a thick skin and shrugging off slights thus come to be seen as virtues, because they help maintain social peace."

Of course, serious conflicts cannot always be resolved privately. In dignity cultures, when a person's rights are violated, he may as a last resort seek recourse from third parties, like courts and police, which are empowered to wield violence on victims' behalf. Still, because dignity cultures practice tolerance, they're much more peaceful than honor cultures."

Campbell and Manning observe the phenomena of microaggressions as an indicator of a movement to a third model of conflict and social control: victimhood.  I will lazily quote Bailey again,

"A victimhood culture combines an honor culture's quickness to take offense with an overdependence on the nonvoluntary institutions that serve as a dignity culture's last resort. If Campbell, Manning, and Horwitz are right about the direction American society is headed, we're in for an increase in social conflict, and an ever-larger and more intrusive government tasked with trying to suppress that social conflict, in years to come."

City managers and county administrators tend to be "apex predators" of activist local governments.  No matter what the problems, managers often try to solve them often without any contemplating the proper role of government or making an honest assessment if we might make the problem worse. 

Rarely does one hear a senior public manager opine that perhaps some residents just need to develop thicker skins.  And in perfect candor, that is precisely the message some citizens should hear.  Government should not be a cudgel or axe wielded against neighbors.  City and county leaders are in a strong position to to affirm the dignity culture, to encourage informal resolutions, and to promote tolerance.  For this to happen, public administrators need to go beyond the technical, narrow, and "safe" offerings of professional organizations like ICMA and engage in larger debates.

Government isn't always the answer... and holding that belief makes me the contrarian administrator.