Moral entrepreneur (dictionary)
| BoyWiki Dictionary: Moral entrepreneur |
| n (Sociological terminology) |
|
¹ A moral entrepreneur is an individual, group or formal organization that seeks to influence a group to adopt or maintain a norm. |
Moral entrepreneurs are those who take the lead in labeling a particular behavior and spreading or popularizing this label throughout society. This can include attributing negative labels to behavior as well as the removal of negative labels, positively labeling, or removing positive labels. The moral entrepreneur may press for the creation or enforcement of a norm for any number of reasons, altruistic or selfish. Such individuals or groups also hold the power to generate moral panic; similarly multiple moral entrepreneurs may have conflicting goals and work to counteract each other. Some examples of moral entrepreneurs are: MADD (mothers against drunk driving), the anti-tobacco lobby, the gun control lobby, anti-pornography groups, and the pro-life and pro-choice movements (an example of two moral entrepreneurs working against each other on a single issue).[1]
