Mary Douglas
writer, university teacher, anthropologist, sociologist, social anthropologist
Read on Wikipedia1921 – 2007
All Quotes by Mary Douglas
“Religion can make it worse. Are you supposing that if people were encouraged to believe in a transcendent reality, and to be encouraged by grand rituals and music and preaching, to love their neighbors, then they would put jealousy and frustration aside?”
“Inequality can have a bad downside, but equality, for its part, sure does get in the way of coordination.”
“Real equality is immensely difficult to achieve, it needs continual revision and monitoring of distributions. And it does not provide buffers between members, so they are continually colliding or frustrating each other.”
“If you want to change the culture, you will have to start by changing the organization.”
“Since 1970, relationships can be more volatile, jobs more ephemeral, geographical mobility more intensified, stability of marriage weaker.”
“If you want to change the culture, you will have to start by changing the organization.”
“Mormons... are so strong, they can handle wealth, they are confident. I think it is because they are not bogged down by rules for equality, but have a firmly defined system of relative status and responsible command.”
“If people want to compete for leadership of a religious group, they can compete in piety. A chilling thought. Or funny.”
“Religion can make it worse. Are you supposing that if people were encouraged to believe in a transcendent reality, and to be encouraged by grand rituals and music and preaching, to love their neighbors, then they would put jealousy and frustration aside?”