When strangers cooperate

When Strangers Cooperate - a classic example of the humanistic sociological essay - is the first book to examine and explore the largely unconscious operation of social conventions. Management professor and former government official David W. Brown explains that conventions evolve in diverse ways, from the seemingly random and spontaneous (pedestrians crossing a busy street), to those crafted to address unfulfilled needs (self-help groups), to rules established by central authority (bans on public smoking). Brown argues that American society is stubbornly resistant to establishing permanent…