This essay identifies social conditions associated with the compensatory style of conflict management, addresses variable aspects of compensation itself, and examines the modern trend toward a greater degree of compensatory liability of organizations for the misfortunes of individuals. Several propositions are discussed: Compensation is a direct function of groups and a curvilinear function of relational distance, and is greater in upward and group-directed cases than in downward and individual-directed cases. In addition, liability varies directly with social distance and is greater in group-directed than in individual-directed cases. The modern trend toward greater organizational liability appears to be a devolution toward a pattern of collective dependency characteristic of earlier societies before the decline of kinship.
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Donald Black (1987) studied this question.