Agricultural Organization, Social Structure, and Values in Italy: Amoral Familism Reconsidered1

The ethos of “amoral familism,” which was suggested by Banfield as an explanation of political behavior in a Southern Italian community, may be restated as a summary of several significant features of Southern Italian social structure. However, Banfield's argument must be reversed: the ethos is a consequence rather than the basis of these social characteristics; they, in turn, have their foundation in the agricultural system. In order to identify those conditions of agricultural organization and social structure that shape “amoral familism” and related values, two areas of Italy, the Center and the Deep South, are contrasted.