The servant role, it is argued, is obsolete in modern society. Even when formally based on contract, it is in essence rooted in ascribed status, particularistic standards, and diffuse obligations. The master's family “greedily” attempts to absorb the total personality of the servant, and ties him to the household in a totalistic manner. Such premodern relationships between superior and inferior can exist only as long as religious legitimations for it are accepted by the servant, and no alternative employment opportunities are available. When this is no longer the case, the role becomes obsolescent and only persons suffering from marked inferiorities and peculiar stigmas can be induced to enter it.
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Lewis A. Coser (1973) studied this question.