--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Society is organized on the principle…" description: "\"Society is organized on the principle that any individual who possesses certain social characteristics has a moral right to expect that others will val..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/062/erving-goffman-18642_appropriate_society-is-organized-on-the-principle-th_1454998.jpg" --- # Society is organized on the principle that any individual… ![“Society is organized on the principle that any individual who possesses certain social characteristics has a moral right to expect that others will value and treat him in an appropriate way.” quote by Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/062/erving-goffman-18642_appropriate_society-is-organized-on-the-principle-th_1454998.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/062/erving-goffman-18642_appropriate_society-is-organized-on-the-principle-th_1454998.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/062/erving-goffman-18642_appropriate_society-is-organized-on-the-principle-th_1454998.jpg) > “Society is organized on the principle that any individual who possesses certain social characteristics has a moral right to expect that others will value and treat him in an appropriate way.” [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society assumes that people with particular social traits deserve respect and appropriate treatment from others. **In simple terms:** People with certain traits expect fair treatment. Key Takeaway Treat others with respect based on their social identity. Themes social norms respect identity rights Mood reflective analytical Type sociological ethical When to use this quote - workplace interactions - public services - education settings - community events Key Concepts symbolic interactionism social expectation Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure fair treatment for diverse identities? - What biases affect your expectations of respect? A Different Perspective Assumptions may ignore individual differences and lead to stereotyping. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [I have confronted theoretical positions whose protagonists claim that what I take to be historically produced characteristics of what is specifically modern are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alasdair-macintyre/i-have-confronted-theoretical-positions-whose-protagonists-claim-that/) [Alasdair MacIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alasdair-macintyre/) > [Suicide and antipathy to fires in a bedroom seem to be among the national characteristics. 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Tolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-s-tolan/) > [I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-am-not-interested-in-power-for-power-s-sake-but-i-m-interested-in/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Suicide is a fundamental human right. This does not mean that it is morally desirable. It only means that society does not have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/suicide-is-a-fundamental-human-right-this-does-not-mean-that-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Erving Goffman > [The term stigma and its synonyms conceal a double perspective: does the stigmatized individual assume his differentness is known about already or is evident…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-term-stigma-and-its-synonyms-conceal-a-double-perspective-does/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [The routines of social intercourse in established settings allow us to deal with anticipated others without special attention or thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-routines-of-social-intercourse-in-established-settings-allow-us/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“In reviewing his own moral career, the stigmatized individual may single out and retrospectively elaborate experiences which serve for him to account for his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/in-reviewing-his-own-moral-career-the-stigmatized-individual-may/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“When an individual becomes over-involved in a topic of conversation, others are drawn from the talk to the talker. One man's eagerness is another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/when-an-individual-becomes-over-involved-in-a-topic-of-conversation/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“The more there is about the individual that deviates in an undesirable direction from what might have been expected to be true of him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-more-there-is-about-the-individual-that-deviates-in-an/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [The self... is not an organic thing that has a specific location, whose fundamental fate is to be born, to mature, to die; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-self-is-not-an-organic-thing-that-has-a-specific-location-whose/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [The stigmatized individual is asked to act so as to imply neither that his burden is heavy nor that bearing it has made him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-stigmatized-individual-is-asked-to-act-so-as-to-imply-neither/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [There is a close meshing with the ritual properties of persons and with the egocentric forms of territoriality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/there-is-a-close-meshing-with-the-ritual-properties-of-persons-and/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“The act of staring is a thing which one does not ordinarily do to another human being; it seems to put the object stared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-act-of-staring-is-a-thing-which-one-does-not-ordinarily-do-to/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [All the world is not, of course, a stage, but the crucial ways in which it isn’t are not easy to specify](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/all-the-world-is-not-of-course-a-stage-but-the-crucial-ways-in-which/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“Morning and lunchtime are times when anyone can appear alone almost anywhere without this giving evidence of how the person is faring in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/morning-and-lunchtime-are-times-when-anyone-can-appear-alone-almost/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“Although the pictures shown here cannot be taken as representative of gender behavior in real life... one can probably make a significant negative statement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/although-the-pictures-shown-here-cannot-be-taken-as-representative-of/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [The normal and the stigmatized are not persons, but perspectives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-normal-and-the-stigmatized-are-not-persons-but-perspectives/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [“...the issue becomes not whether a person has experience with a stigma of his own, because he has, but rather how many varieties he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/the-issue-becomes-not-whether-a-person-has-experience-with-a-stigma/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [A performer may be taken in by his own act, convinced at the moment that the impression of reality which he fosters is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/a-performer-may-be-taken-in-by-his-own-act-convinced-at-the-moment/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) [Explore all 34 Erving Goffman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) ## More Appropriate quotes > [“Appropriate is overrated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-w-kohlhagen/appropriate-is-overrated/) Steven W. 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