Human Value and the Market-The Case of Life Insurance and Death in 19th-Century America教程.pdfVIP

Human Values and the Market: The Case of Life Insurance and Death in 19th-Century America Author(s): Viviana A. Zelizer Reviewed work(s): Source: American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 84, No. 3 (Nov., 1978), pp. 591-610 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: /stable/2778256 . Accessed: 05/01/2013 22:40 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms Conditions of Use, available at . /page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@. . The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Journal of Sociology. This content downloaded on Sat, 5 Jan 2013 22:40:56 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Human Values and the Market: The Case of Life Insurance and Death in 19th-Century America Viviana A. Zelizer Barnard College, Columbia University Qualitative analysis of historical data concerningthe diffusion of life insurance in the United States during the 19th century helps to ex- plore the problem of establishing monetary equivalents for those as- pects of the social order, such as death, that are culturally defined as above financial relationships.The financial evaluation of a mans life introduced by the life insurance industry was initially rejected by many as a profanation which transformed the sacred event of death into a vulgarco