As van den Berghe (1970) has noted, some form of distance is a "functional prerequisite in any social situation involving authority, hierarchy or stratification." Where distance is not maintained socially, through etiquette or sumptory laws, for example, it can be maintained spatially, through segregation.

XREF: Connects to ideas about social hierarchy, ritual, and Goffman's work on face and social interaction. Also ties into urban segregation literature.

QUESTION: What does this imply about egalitarian or peer relationships that downplay distance? Is distance always present in authority regardless of formality?

Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order a…, loc. 1118