Economic Sources of Transcultural Conflict In Kansas City, Kansas

Dean, Douglas H.

Publication

Economic Sources of Transcultural Conflict In Kansas City, Kansas

Dean, Douglas H.

Abstract

The article analyzes cultural clashes between the dominant WASP majority and a black minority culture in Kansas City, Kansas. A socio-anthropological methodology constructs the type of economic determinism developed by Marvin Harris and Henry G. Burger. Major conclusions drawn are: (1) that a large "cargo cult" exists within the minority black culture; (2) that conflicts between the cultures can be reduced if the minority culture can obtain a greater voice in decisions affecting its enculturative system and its peoples' economic future; (3) that federal works projects utilizing low-income labor can provide a major outlet for "cargo cult" tension, thereby reducing impingement with negative results; and (4) that the next stage in the dialectical process might well be a "constipated" stage exhibiting degrees of violence if the above two conditions are not acted upon.