Repeated frontline control teaches clients that they are dependent and subordinate.

Evidence

First, the structure of street-level practice has an impact on clients’ conceptions of their capacity. Street-level bureaucrats’ control of clients confirms for clients their dependency and subordination. In tum, this control more generally affects clients’ self-respect and self-expectations 14 (see chapter 5). — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy, 1337

Categorization

• XREF: Pairs with the sociology-of-strangers material on how treatment in public space shapes self-conception and standing.