Ideological Aspects of Social Disorganization

Abstract

T HE Ideological Element in Social Problems. The notion that ideologies play an important part in contemporary social life seems to have penetrated into the sphere of popular discourse. Today even the newspapers occasionally refer to ideologies when they wish to allude to a complex of ideas, a body of doctrines, the programs of movements, the platforms of parties-in fact, to any creed or theory that takes on an intellectualized and rationalized form. It would be difficult to imagine a single social problem in the analysis and proposed solution of which we do not have to take account of ideological factors. They are an elusive but significant part of our contemporary social landscape. They serve as landmarks which help us to find our way in what otherwise would be a chaotic social world, by providing us with guidance in defining and evaluating situations. Ideologies enable us to identify ourselves with social movements and groups which offer interpretations and solutions of problems which could only rarely be undertaken by each individual independently. They aid us in reducing excessive individuation and indifference in respect to social problems by furnishing us with goals by which more or less articulate groups become integrated. While they help us to get our bearings and to sustain our capacity for collective action, it must be recognized, however, that much of our confusion and indecision is in part attributable to the wide variety of ideologies to which we are exposed and to the intermixture of conflicting ideological elements that direct the attention and court the loyalties of the several members of the society. A further confusion is introduced by the fact that the beliefs and creeds which men profess do not always correspond to the principles-if any-which find expression in their actual conduct. Consequently, in the world of action as well as in social science, ideologies are often referred to as mere ideologies, as if they were irrelevant epiphenomena having no substantial roots in and relations to the realities of existence. It is the object of this paper to elaborate the proposition that our contemporary social problems cannot be adequately treated and that the situations to which they refer cannot be understood without taking due account of the role of their ideological involvements. There is a widespread belief that the problems of maladjustment of men to one another and to the world in which they live arise out of the nature of men or of things. Despite the work of a long line of social scientists who have indicated that the situations we call social problems are problematical only because they represent deviations from socially accepted norms and