CALHOUN, KINSHIP AND COMMUNITY

The work of Craig Calhoun is examined as a perspective on the operation of community structures. Three facets are considered: Calhoun's model of the pre‐industrial community resting on linked multiple social relationships; parallel studies; comparisons across time and between regional or national settings. The conventional view is that national societal differences have been paramount in differentiating the long‐term profiles (e.g. economic growth) of nation states. Here the continuing importance of localised patterns of economic and social activity is emphasised.