Social Character, Interdependence and the Dualities of Other-Directedness

David Riesman’s (1969[1950]) exploration of the other-directed characterological form, suited to corporate capitalism and the rise of the service sector, became one of the most influential sociological analyses of the twentieth century. Yet sociologists interested in the contemporary fate of those dispositional qualities suited to mutual adjustment confront a paradox: why, in an age of increasing interdependencies apparently conducive to the sustenance of other-directedness, are we witnessing rising concerns about the resurgence of social sectarianism? Most accounts of this tension rely upon structuralist explanations of late modernity’s disruptive impact, or psychologistic accounts of group allegiance. In contrast, we develop a meso-level analysis that highlights an increasingly consequential duality at the heart of other-directedness itself: the qualities associated with this characterological form still facilitate selective forms of mutuality, but the demands it places upon people in the current era have also prompted growing levels of resentment and antagonism.