Grid Group Paper

Mary Douglas ‘Grid –Group theory states that there are five cultural types or social environments that can occur. They are Fatalist, Hierarchist, Individualist, Egalitarian, and also Hermit. Each of these different groups is determined by different patterns of relationships and each with a characteristic world view. Each different cultural type creates different attitudes, beliefs, and values that help justify each specific social organization. I also feel that Robin Lakoff’s theory of “moral politics” fits in with the grid-group theory pretty well. This theory is that people think of the nation as a family, and that there is two types of families either a strict father family or a nurturant parent family. This theory is trying to explain that people will chose their political view and which grid-group they fit in to base on whatever type of family they come from.

On the Grid- Group theory I feel that I fall into two different regions, Individualist and Hierarchist. First off both of these groups are almost total opposites, because Individualist believe in “Every man or woman for themselves” while Hierarchist believe in “All for one and one for all.” I believe that I have a Hierarchist mind set from high school because of playing on the baseball team, and always hearing my coach tell us that we need all nine of the players to perform well in order to win. Now the reason that I am sometimes an Individualist is because, one I am a college student and we are all always competing with one another trying to get higher grades and two because I do not feel that rich should be taxed more just because they make more money.

With the grid group there are four main sectors which include fatalist, individualist, hierarchist, and egalitarian. The first group is the hierarchists which have a conservative political view. These people feel that everything should be divided into many different groups like in the military, the corporate world, and sports teams. For example with professional sports teams the highest ranked person is the Owner, then the General Manager, then coach etc. But even with this division of categorize they still have an all for one and one for all mentally. A person in family that demonstrates this type of group would be my father because he demands respect and also is not afraid to dish out punishments when he is not given respect. He also keeps our family close and he is always trying to better our life.

The second group is the egalitarian group which has a liberal and progressive political view. This group has a strong believe in us vs. them. With us being the unit (egalitarians) and them is viewed as someone who dangerous or corrupt. But people within this group are able to communicate with others (them) as long as everyone is viewed as equal. With everyone being viewed as equal this leads to weak leadership. The best example of this group in my family would be my siblings and I, because we do not view any of us as a leader and we also watch out for each other with a us vs. them attitude.

A third group is the individualist which has a libertarian view on politics. This group sees society as having view rules in defining a person’s place in society so they are very self-seeking and aggressive. Many