"A moral entrepreneur is an individual, group, or formal organization that seeks to influence a group to adopt or maintain a norm; altering the boundaries of altruism, deviance, duty or compassion."
"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."
"He is interested in the content of rules. The existing rules do not satisfy him because there is some evil which profoundly disturbs him. He feels that nothing can be right in the world until rules are made to correct it."
"He operates with an absolute ethic; what he sees is truly and totally evil with no qualification. Any means is justified to do away with it. The crusader is fervent and righteous, often self-righteous."
"Successful moral crusades are generally dominated by those in the upper social strata of society."
"'Rule enforcers' are compelled by two drives: need to justify their own role, and need to win respect in interactions. They are in a bind; if they show too much effectiveness one might say they are not needed, and if they show too little one might say they are failing."
"Creation & application of explicit moral rules are characteristics of moralism, or the tendency to treat people as enemies. The sources of moralism are status superiority and social remoteness between the agents of social control and the people whose behavior they regulate."
"The most likely targets of both moral rule creators and moral rule enforcers are those who are socially inferior, culturally different, and personally unknown."
"Those individuals with social power, wealth, high status, or large public support bases are the most likely to assert this power and to act as a moral entrepreneur."
"Moral entrepreneurs mix appeals to self-interest with emotional appeals that bypass our rational calculating faculty and stir inarticulable feelings... They teach us to love or hate whom they love or hate."
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