SOCIAL FORCES rational animal. "They are, however, Americans it provides, is bound to increase the substantial as the Kluckhohn describe us rationality of a large proportion of the people affected by it. Our glorification of"science"and our faith in what can are two striking ROMANTIC INDIVIDUALISM ralized conviction that secula The mass culture tends to define social workers humanistic effort will improve the world in a series of or mainly for the better, 9 busybodies, interfering with eople,s lives to relieve the frustrations of their They have accepted the idea and are incorporating own experience. And yet social work is an expand the practice of non-directive counseling, which ing profession with many more positions open than rests on faith in the ordinary man's capacity for there are trained professionals to fill them. There the rational ordering of his own life to So far has is, too, a stigma on accepting the help of social the movement toward self-direction gone and so agencies, but their clients gr numbers year fundamental to modern social work is the belief in by year. Why should Americans who hate"being the possibility of rational action by human beings, told what to do, "go as so many of them do, to that very young children are encouraged to gain family counseling agencies and child guidance insight into their disturbing relations with their clinics where they get nothing but advice? The parents and thereby learn to deal themselves with "something for nothing"philosophy sends a fair the resulting problems. Environmental factors number of individuals to relief offices, but making which social workers a decade or so ago would use of the skilled services of a social worker requires have considered so unfavorable as to demand either a different type of motivation and one that runs removal of the child or modification of his situation counter to the ideology of romantic individualism by an external agency, are now thought within De Tocqueville found the Americans of his day the childs capacity to handle with training. At the more interested in equality than in freedom. A same time children, who would have been ap- social worker might be justified in claiming that proached only through their mothers, now have her clients are more concerned with success than their own case workers and receive treatment with freedom, if freedom is defined as individualis directly tic effort. Social settlements have been criticized The social worker shows his orientation to for aiding their members to climb up the social American mass culture by refusing to admit, ladder, but it is doubtful whether any form of publicly at least, that there are people who are ocial work can succeed with a person who is not incapable of rationa motivated by a desire for increased prestige or practice, of course, mental deficiency and mental esteem. American culture has defined more rigidly illness set limits to therapy as well as to education. the goal of "keeping up with the Jo She is also American in ignoring religion, though getting ahead of them, than the socially acceptable she may bring it into her calculations because of methods of attaining that goal. Competition for its therapeutic value and she is aware of the im- money and position excuses a"multitude of sins portance of church membership as status-defining ranging from violations of the law to the accept and possessed of associational satisfactions for ance of professional assistance. An applicant fo some of her clients case-work guidance must have reached the point Social work is definitely aimed at combatting of evaluating the desired improvement in status the depersonalization of human beings by modern more highly than the complete independence upon industry and urban anonymity. Active participa- which our myth of free enterprise places such The Kluckhohn refer to the fact that "soci Clyde and Florence R. Kluckhohn, loG ci, p. 111. change has its origins in the strains and dissatis- is Carl B. Rogers. See especially his Counsel factions felt by specific individuals. Social workers pls in Praclice are sometimes accused of attempting to adjust 1942) dividuals to situations that ought to be changed t discussion of this development is to and thereby blocking progress. In a sense, Ameri- leanor Clifton and Florence Hollis(eds ) can society has followed English precedent, Child Therapy: A Casework Symposium(New York, using such agents to buy off social revolution 194 Social workers would say, however, that the new292 SOCIAL FORCES "rational animal." They are, however, Americans as the Kluckhohns describe us. Our glorification of "science" and our faith in what can be accomplished through "education," are two striking aspects of our generalized conviction that secular, humanistic effort will improve the world in a series of changes, all or mainly for the better,9 They have accepted the idea and are incorporating the practice of non-directive counseling, which rests on faith in the ordinary man's capacity for the rational ordering of his own life.-" So far has the movement toward self-direction gone and so fundamental to modern social work is the belief in the possibility of rational action by human beings, that very young children are encouraged to gain insight into their disturbing relations with their parents and thereby learn to deal themselves with the resulting problems." Environmental factors which social workers a decade or so ago would have considered so unfavorable as to demand either removal of the child or modification of his situation by an extern'al agency, are now thought within the child's capacity to handle with training. At the same time children, who would have been ap￾proached only through their mothers, now have their own case workers and receive treatment directly. The social worker shows his orientation to American mass culture by refusing to admit, publicly at least, that there are people who are incapable of rational goal-directed behavior. In practice, of course, mental deficiency and mental illness set limits to therapy as well as to education. She is also American in ignoring religion, though she may bring it into her calculations because of its therapeutic value and she is aware of the im￾portance of church membership as status-defining and possessed of associational satisfactions for some of her clients. Social work is definitely aimed at combatting the depersonalization of human beings by modern industry and urban anonymity. Active participa￾tion in a process of interaction as sophisticated as it provides, is bound to increase the substantial rationality of a large proportion of the people affected by it. ROMANTIC INDIVIDUALISM The mass culture tends to define social workers as meddlesome busybodies, interfering with other people's lives to relieve the frustrations of their own experience. And yet social work is an expand￾ing profession with many more positions open than there are trained professionals to fill them. There is, too, a stigma on accepting the help of social agencies, but their clients grow in numbers year by year. Why should Americans who hate "being told what to do," go as so many of them do, to family counseling agencies and child guidance clinics where they get nothing but advice? The "something for nothing" philosophy sends a fair number of individuals to relief offices, but making use of the skilled services of a social worker requires a different type of motivation and one that runs counter to the ideology of romantic individualism. De Tocqueville found the Americans of his day more interested in equality than in freedom. A social worker might be justified in claiming that her clients are more concerned with success than with freedom, if freedom is defined as individualis￾tic effort. Social settlements have been criticized for aiding their members to climb up the social ladder, but it is doubtful whether any form of social work can succeed with a person who is not motivated by a desire for increased prestige or esteem. American culture has defined more rigidly the goal of "keeping up with the Joneses," or getting ahead of them, than the socially acceptable methods of attaining that goal. Competition for money and position excuses a "multitude of sins," ranging from violations of the law to the accept￾ance of professional assistance. An applicant for case-work guidance must have reached the point of evaluating the desired improvement in status more highly than the complete independence upon which our myth of free enterprise places such supreme importance. The Kluckhohns refer to the fact that "social change has its origins in the strains and dissatis￾factions felt by specific individuals." Social workers are sometimes accu sed of attempting to adjust individuals to situations that ought to be changed and thereby blocking progress. In a sense, Ameri￾can society has followed English precedent, in using such agents to buy off social revolution. Social workers would say, however, that the new I Clyde and Florence R. Kluckhohn, loc. cit., p. 111. 10 The leading exponent of non-directive counseling is Carl B. Rogers. See especially his Counseling and Psychotherapy: Neweer Concepts in Practice (Boston, 1942). 11 A recent discussion of this development is to be found in Eleanor Clifton and Florence Hollis (eds.), Child Therapy: A Casework Symposium (New York, 1948)