A 1958 New York community study dramatized the thesis that macro forces (urbanization, industrialization, bureaucratization) have undermined all small communities' autonomy. Such "oppositional case studies" succeed when they render the dominant view immediately obsolete, have plausible origins, are testable, and generate new research. The New York study's probable origin in populist ideology undermines its testability. Contains 36 references. (Author/SV)