Seldom Aware Of The Intricate Connection Between

In Our Time, What Is At Issue Is The Very Nature Of Man, The Image We Have Of His Limits And Possibilities As A Man. History Is Not Yet Done With Its Exploration Of The Limits And Meanings Of Human Nature.

To Have Peace And Not War, The Drift Toward A War Economy, As Facilitated By The Moves And The Demands Of The Sophisticated Conservatives, Must Be Stopped; To Have Peace Without Slump, The Tactics And Policies Of The Practical Right Must Be Overcome. The Political And Economic Power Of Both Must Be Broken. The Power Of These Giants Of Main Drift Is Both Economically And Politically Anchored; Both Unions And An Independent Labor Party Are Needed To Struggle Effective.

People With Advantages Are Loath To Believe That They Just Happen To Be People With Advantages. They Come Readily To Define Themselves As Inherently Worthy Of What They Possess; They Come To Believe Themselves 'naturally' Elite; And, In Fact, To Imagine Their Possessions And Their Privileges As Natural Extensions Of Their Own Elite Selves.

It Is The Political Task Of The Social Scientist — As Of Any Liberal Educator — Continually To Translate Personal Troubles Into Public Issues, And Public Issues Into The Terms Of Their Human Meaning For A Variety Of Individuals. It Is His Task To Display In His Work — And, As An Educator, In His Life As Well — This Kind Of Sociological Imagination. And It Is His Purpose To Cultivate Such Habits Of Mind Among The Men And Women Who Are Publicly Exposed To Him. To Secure These Ends Is To Secure Reason And Individuality, And To Make These The Predominant Values Of A Democratic Society.

In The World Of The Celebrity, The Hierarchy Of Publicity Has Replaced The Hierarchy Of Descent And Even Of Great Wealth.