Social Disorganization and Moral Order in the City

Abstract

An interpretation of the ethnographic research of the 'Chicago school' is offered which focuses on the pivotal concepts of social disorganization and moral order. The origins of these concepts in the writings of W. I. Thomas and R. E. Park are explored, together with their subsequent application in three generations of urban research. The ethnographic tradition at Chicago was founded on an interactionist approach to society and on the pragmatic philosophy of William James and John Dewey. By stressing this context, the paper argues that social disorganization and moral order should not be interpreted as static terms but as referring to dynamic processes which vary according to the definition of the situation which is currently employed. Relevant empirical work in urban sociology and social geography suggests the value of this perspective in uncovering the moral order which characterizes even those areas of the city which, from other perspectives, appear socially and morally most 'disorganized'.