Is it conceivable that these economically privileged Americans will some day wake up to the fact that they overconform? Wake up to the discovery that a host of behavioral rituals are the result, not of an inescapable social imperative but of an image of society that, though false, provides certain secondary gains for the people who believe in it? Since character structure is, if anything, even more tenacious than social structure, such an awakening is exceedingly unlikely—and we know that many thinkers before us have seen the false dawns of freedom while their compatriots stubbornly continued to close their eyes to the alternatives that were, in principle, available. But to put the question may at least raise doubts in the minds of some.
Occasionally city planners put such questions. They comprise perhaps the most important professional group to become reasonably weary of the cultural definitions that are systematically trotted out to rationalize the inadequacies of city life today, for the well-to-do as well as for the poor. With their imagination and bounteous approach they have become, to some extent, the guardians of our liberal and progressive political tradition, as this is increasingly displaced from state and national politics. In their best work, we see expressed in physical form a view of life which is not narrowly job-minded. It is a view of the city as a setting for leisure and amenity as well as for work. But at present the power of the local veto groups puts even the most imaginative of city planners under great pressure to show that they are practical, hardheaded fellows, barely to be distinguished from traffic engineers.
However, just as there is in my opinion a greater variety of attitudes toward leisure in contemporary America than appears on the surface, so also the sources of Utopian political thinking may be hidden and constantly changing, constantly disguising themselves. While political curiosity and interest have been largely driven out of the accepted sphere of the political in recent years by the focus of the press and of the more responsible sectors of public life on crisis, people may, in what is left of their private lives, be nurturing newly critical and creative standards. If these people are not strait-jacketed before they get started—by the elaboration and forced feeding of a set of official doctrines— people may some day learn to buy not only packages of groceries or books but the larger package of a neighborhood, a society, and a way of life.
If the other-directed people should discover how much needless work they do, discover that their own thoughts and their own lives are quite as interesting as other people’s, that, indeed, they no more assuage their loneliness in a crowd of peers than one can assuage one’s thirst by drinking sea water, then we might expect them to become more attentive to their own feelings and aspirations.
This possibility may sound remote, and perhaps it is. But undeniably many currents of change in America escape the notice of the reporters of this best-reported nation on earth. We have inadequate indexes for the things we would like to find out, especially about such intangibles as character, political styles, and the uses of leisure. America is not only big and rich, it is mysterious; and its capacity for the humorous or ironical concealment of its interests matches that of the legendary inscrutable Chinese. By the same token, what my collaborators and I have to say may be very wide of the mark. Inevitably, our own character, our own geography, our own illusions, limit our view.
But while I have said many things in this book of which I am unsure, of one thing I am sure: the enormous potentialities for diversity in nature’s bounty and men’s capacity to differentiate their experience can become valued by the individual himself, so that he will not be tempted and coerced into adjustment or, failing adjustment, into anomie. The idea that men are created free and equal is both true and misleading: men are created different; they lose their social freedom and their individual autonomy in seeking to become like each other.
INDEX
Adams, Brooks, 183n.
Adjustment, 71, 240; defined, 242–43; of inner-directed, 250; and anomie 244; of other-directed, 259–60; through work, 264–65
Advertising, 80, 97–99, 228–29, 273, 301–02
Alger, Horatio, 92, 149
Alorese culture, 241
American Magazine, 151
Anderson, Sherwood, 121
Anomic type, 240, 243–46, 257, 274–75
Antagonistic cooperation, 81–83, 101, 137, 139, 152, 213–141, 232, 234, 264
Anxiety, of other-directed, 25, 27, 47–48, 51, 64, 136, 148, 150, 177, 258, 260, 273, 280, 285
Apathy, 124–25, 244; and sex, 145; political, 27, 34, 165–71, 191, 193, 197–98, 265; of primitive societies, 240
Asch, Solomon E., 155n.
Athenian empire, 25–27
Audience: in tradition-directed society, 86–87; in inner-directed society, 89–91; in other-directed society, 150, 188, 190, 193–95, 197, 298
Augustine, St., 124
Automatization, 269–74
Autonomy, 239, 241–42, 257–58; and curve of population, 246–48; and choice of occupation, 248; in tradition-directed society, 240, 246–47; in inner-directed society, 248–55; in other-directed society, 108, 255–60; in work, 261–75; in play, 276–303
Avery, Sewell, 216, 219
Avocational counselors, 299–301
Bagehot, Walter, 78n.
Beauvoir, Simone de, 255, 261
Becker, Howard C., 61n., 194n.
Bellamy, Edward, 120, 249, 273–74
Benedict, Ruth, 4, 225–26, 230, 231, 232, 234, 241
Berelson, Bernard, 78n.
Berle, A. A., Jr., 114
Bernard, Claude, 252–53
Bible, 90, 96, 180
Blake, William, 80
Blumer, Herbert, 150n.
Bohemianism, 257–58
Breckenridge, M. E., 105
Burnham, James, 20, 225
Businessman: and craft skill, 129–31; inner-directed and other-directed, 130–31, 134–35; and price leadership, 131–32; motives for entrepreneurship, 132–33; peer-group and fair trade, 131; and professional help, 133–34; and “fun” in business, 135; attitudes toward power, 207–13, 216–17, 230; power position of, 217–20; attitudes toward, 231–32
Butler, Samuel, 49, 50
California, 221–22
Carnegie, Dale, 149–50
Catholic Church, 14, 212, 217
CCC camps, 263, 274
Censorship, 80–91, 104
Character: social function of, 5–6; and social change, 3, 28–29; and curve of population growth, 8, 31–33; ideal types, 9; tradition-directed, 11–13, 16; inner-directed, 13–17; other-directed, 17–24; the three types compared, 24–26; autonomous, 240–41, 243, 246, 249–60; agents of formation, 37–38; politics as, 180. See also Inner-directed; Other-directed; Tradition-directed; Children; Dwelling; Family; Mass media; Myth; Parents; Peer-group; Teachers
Characterological struggle, 31–35, 260
Chesterfield, Lord, 66, 91
Chicago Sun-Times, 265
Chicago Tribune, 193, 215, 265
Child market, 96–99, 301–303
Children: character formation, 5, 21, 37–38; in tradition-directed society, 38–40, 42, 51, 85–86; in inner-directed society, 40–45, 87–95; in other-directed society, 45, 47–57, 60–65, 70–72, 96–108, 288. See also Parents; Peer-group; Play; Teachers
Churchill, Winston, 210, 211
City planners, 185, 278, 306
Civil War (U.S.), 173, 179, 207
Clark, Colin, 9, 20
Class: upper middle class and other-direction, 14–16, 51; “old” and “new” middle class, 16, 47–48; relation to character structure, 37, 55; in tradition-directed society, 38–40; and the peer-group, 47, 70; effects upon literature, 91–92; and consumption, 117–19, 141–42, 144–45, 157; and popular culture, 153; and politics, 163, 177, 184, 206–08, 213; and work, 262–63; as defense of inner-directed, 254; and envy, 268. See also Ruling class; Status
Comics, 93, 98–105, 155. See also Mass media
Communism, 182, 248
Competition:
among inner-directed, 81, 113–15; among other-directed, 46, 81–82, 139–40; in veto groups, 213–14. See also Antagonistic cooperation; Goals; Individuality
Conformity, and fear of nonconformity, 77, 139–40, 150, 181, 241–43, 257–58. See also Character-ological struggle
Consumer trainee, 74–75, 96–98, 104, 149
Consumption, conspicuous, 117–18, 226–27, 230
Consumption, patterns of, 19, 73; inner-directed, 116–23; other-directed, 150, 189–91, 227, 290. See also Food; Leisure; Peer-group
Cookbooks, 142, 144–45, 147
Craftsmanship, 129–31, 138, 290, 292–95, 297, 299. See also Hobbies; Work
Crampton, Gertrude, 105
Cultural pluralism, 283, 284
Cynicism, 174, 195–96
Defoe, Daniel, 92–93, 102
De Man, Henri, 270
Depression, 138, 288
Deviants, 11, 241–42, 244, 249–51. See also Anomic type
Dewey, Thomas E., 191
Distribution system, 137, 143, 272–74, 287. See also Consumption
Divorce, 281
Dobuan culture, 226–27, 230–31, 241, 278
Dress, 157
Drucker, Peter, 20, 218
Durkheim, Emile, 125, 242
Dwellings, 39, 43, 48, 53, 296
Education: progressive, 60–65; Dalton plan, 63; in phase of transitional growth, 87; vogue of general, 136. See also Teachers
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 191, 195
Enforced privatization, 264, 266–67, 271, 276–85, 304
Entertainers, 76–78, 97–98, 286, 289, 291–92
Erikson, Erik H., 5, 33, 178
Ethnic groups, privatization of, 283–84
Etiquette, 11, 73–76, 91–92
Factory worker, 267–68, 270–71
Fair trade, 131–32, 135
Fairy tales, 100, 101, 107. See also Myth
False personalization, 261–64, 269–75, 277, 304
Family, 38–40, 45, 66, 86, 96, 254, 281. See also Parents
Featherbedding, 268, 269, 271, 279
Federalist Papers, 173
Fielding, Henry, 3
Fiske, Marjorie, 83n.
Folk dancer, 295
Food, 142–45, 284
Forster, E. M., 121
Fortune, 47, 134, 218
Fountainhead, The, 156
Franklin, Benjamin, 92
Freidson, Eliot, 100n.
Freud, Sigmund, 13, 30n., 44, 46, 50n., 253n., 269n.
Fromm, Erich, 4, 5, 19n., 22n., 114n., 251, 255, 263n.
Funt, Allen, 121
Galileo, 250
Gans, Herbert J., 190n.
Gesell, Arnold, 61
Glamor, 191–92, 202, 208–10, 266–69, 301
Goals: choice of, 5–6, 40–44, 48; tradition-directed, 12, 18; inner-directed, 15–16, 18, 40, 73, 76, 79, 91, 93, 101, 115, 124–25, 175, 250; changes in, 89–90, 91–93, 150; in literature, 93–95, 149–50; other-directed, 79, 128, 137–38, 155, 234, 288, 294; of other-directed businessmen, 132–33; and modern uncertainty, 137–39, 305–06
Goldsen, Joseph M., 218
Goodman, Percival and Paul, 270
Grandmothers, 56–57, 70
Granger Movement, 172, 207
Green, Arnold, 19
Greenson, Ralph, 244
Griswold, A. Whitney, 149
Guilt, 24, 25, 274, 279–80, 288
Hauser, Philip, 150n.
Havighurst, Robert J., 148 and n.
Hearst, W. R., 192–93, 197
Heroes, 73, 99–104, 120, 250
Hobbies, 68–69, 142, 292–96
Holmes, Justice Oliver Wendell, Jr., 227n.
Hoslett, S. D., 218n.
Hot rodders, 293–94, 299
Howe, Helen, 154
Hughes, Everett, 130n, 139
Huizinga, A., 16
Huxley, Aldous, 29
Immigrants, 32–34, 127, 166, 283–84
Indians, American, 5, 33, 95, 225–28. See also Kwakiutl; Pueblo
Indispensables, 269–70
Individuality: in tradition-directed societies, 11–12, 15–16, 17, 40; in inner-directed, 16, 17, 79, 81–82; and progressive education, 60; and consumption, 79–82; and the press, 88, 96; and other-directed character, 107–08, 137, 241. See also Autonomy
Industrial Relations, 65, 111, 127–28, 133–34
Industrialization: and war, 14, 18, 35–36; and child labor, 17; in phase of incipient decline, 17–20, 45, 74–75, 85; and other-directed, 18; and frontier economy, 26; and literacy, 87–88; and literature, 92–93; and inner-directed, 112–14, 117–18; and government planning, 113; and the new revolution, 128; and changing character structure, 247–48
Inner-directed character, 8; defined, 14–15; and tradition, 15–16; and role of parent, 40–44, 45, 48; goals of, 45, 115–16, 138–39; and other-directed, 45, 159–60; and role of teacher, 58–60; and peer-group, 66–70; and competition, 81–82; and literacy, 87–94; and work, 111–16; relation to product, 112; and property, 114; in Russia and India, 114–15; and self-approval, 123–24; and tradition-directed, 124–25; and apathy, 124–25; in professions today, 130–31; interest in food, 142–43; and sex, 145–46; leisure of, 156–58; in politics, 172–180; and autonomy, 249–55, 260; in Renaissance, 247; hobbies of, 292–93, 294. See also Play; Politics; Population; Work
Ives, Charles, 274
Jahoda, Marie, 296
James, Henry, 121, 228, 276
James, William, 114n.
Janowitz, Morris, 55n.
Jazz, 78, 108, 285, 294, 299
Jews, 156, 212, 214, 222, 283–85
Joyce, James, 223
Key, V. O., 221
Keynes, John Maynard, 119
Kingsley, Charles, 249
Knupfer, Genevieve, 166n.
Kriesberg, Louis, 194n.
Kwakiutl Indians, 226–28, 231–35, 240, 258
Labor unions, 112, 173–74, 214, 216, 218–19
Ladies’ Home Journal, 76, 151, 153
Lassalle, Ferdinand, 253n.
Lasswell, Harold D., 164n.
Lazarsfeld, Paul, 78n., 135, 198n.
Leisure, 18, 20, 46n., 54, 89, 110–11, 116, 119–23, 136, 149–50, 155, 158, 160, 276, 279, 280, 282, 284–85, 286–97, 299–301, 306–07. See also Play
Leites, Nathan, 144, 164n., 244n.
Lewin, Kurt, 30
Life, 55n., 62, 81, 199, 298
Literacy, 87–91, 95–96, 166, 168, 171
Literature: and the rise of capitalism, 92–93; and inner-directed character formation, 91, 149; heroism in, 99–101; Tootle the Engine, 104–07; and other-directed character formation, 106–07, 149–51, 155–56; “Rebellion of Willy Kepper,” 151–52; “Let’s Go Out Tonight,” 152–53; We Happy Few, 154–55; The Fountainhead, 156
Livermore, Charles, 298n.
Loeb, Martin B., 19n., 148
Loneliness, 69–70, 155, 158, 287, 307
Low, Lillian, 218
Lowenthal, Leo, 209n.
Lundberg, George, 292
Lynd, Helen Merrill, 70
Lynd, Robert S., 70, 230
Lynes, Russell, 145
MacMurray, Fred, 144
Malthus, Thomas, 10, 36
Manipulation, 51–52, 53, 63, 129–31, 140–50, 240. See also False personalization; Other-directed character
Mann, Thomas, 113
Marginal differentiation, 46–47, 69, 78, 81, 102, 139, 142–43, 239
Market research, 97–99, 133–34, 198, 302
Marx, Karl, 112, 249, 255, 286, 305
Mass media: in period of incipient decline, 20–22; and children, 50–51, 55; and the peer-group, 21–22, 80, 82; and modern communications, 84; in period of transitional growth, 87–96; and other-directed, 96–104, 107–08, 158; freedom of peer-group from, 107–08; and consumer training (food), 142–43; and sex, 147; and popular culture, 150, 178; and politics, 174, 176, 181, 184, 187, 189, 190–91, 197–200, 204–05; and tolerance, 189, 192–93; pr
essures on, 192–93; critics of, 197, 291; other-directed attitudes toward, 198–99; hierarchy of, 199; power to change, 205; as tutors in consumership, 290; contributions to autonomy, 291
Materialism, 228, 229, 297
Mayo, Elton, 270
McCarthy, Mary, 228n.
McKinley, William, 207–08, 210
McWilliams, Carey, 221
Mead, G. H., 246
Mead, Margaret, 4, 41n., 49n., 280–81
Means, Gardner C., 114
Merton, Robert K., 78n., 185n., 194n., 198n., 242n., 296
Meyerson, Martin and Margy, 169
Middle Ages, 6, 7, 12–13, 16, 92–93, 165
Mill, John Stuart, 43, 211–12, 239, 255–56, 258
Mills, C. Wright, 19, 78n., 225
Monopolistic competition, 46, 97, 132–33, 213–14
“Mood engineering,” 266, 275
Morale, 65, 128, 136, 267–68
Movies, 97, 200; and conspicuous consumption, 117; realism of, 102–03; and consumer orientation, 150; heroes of, 100, 102–03, 155–56; and moralizing, 198–99; and politics, 212–13; and play, 290–92; and taste, 297–99; House of Strangers, 41; Curse of the Cat People, 52; Torment, 58; Three Musketeers, 100; Citizen Kane, 117; Ghost Goes West, 117; Going My Way, 123; Body and Soul, 156; Home of the Brave, 197, 199; A Letter to Three Wives, 229, 290; Everybody Does It, 290; Mr. Belvedere series, 290–92. See also Mass media; Popular culture
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