FROM RURAL TO URBAN: ECONOMIC CHANGE, SOCIAL RELATIONS AND COMMUNITY. THE TRANSFORMATION OF AN AMERICAN TOWN

This study examines the historical development of an American community as a response to economic changes occurring in that community. The first section of the study analyzes the social organizational form of the community by focusing on the political, economic and religious arenas of action. Employing the concept of the "exchange relationship" in which the elements that enter into the exchange relation as well as the individuals involved in the exchange are both combined as the unit of analysis, the interrelationships over time among political, economic and religious elements are investigated. The study focuses on three distinct time periods in the economic history of the community and finds that as the market demand for goods produced by the community increases, the interdependence among the political, economic and religious arenas decreases.;The second half of the study moves from the study of form to that of interaction and in particular looks at the relationship between the mode of interaction and the distribution of wealth that characterizes the community. Specifically, two strategies are examined: (a) promoting the common good and (b) promoting one's self-interest. These strategies are related to the manner in which the structural units of the town (the 'village') are linked. The study argues that the village has adopted more of a political role and less of a social role within the town's structure. This change is signaled by the emergence of village identity as a significant element in political decision making. The change in the structure of the community results from a shift in the nature of the interpersonal interactions due to a shift in the strategies employed by individuals pursuing their own interests. These strategies are in turn found to be a function of the dynamics set in motion by particular arrangements of wealth within the community.