This work provides a detailed look at the concept of community in the literature of the community mental health centers (CMHC) movement from the 1960s to the 1990s. The author takes the analysis well beyond a history of the movement into the realm of applied theory. The purpose of the book is to explore the interwoven dynamics of state policy, market trends and applied theory. "Who Plays? Who Pays? Who Cares?" breaks new ground in its systematic examination of structural functional and conflict sociology underlying American social psychiatry. The work also provides support for the argument that state policy and market conditions significantly limit and direct the applications of theory.