SOCIETY 1 (Mini-articles) Index

Voluntary associations are dying in America. Even social get-togethers like bowling are affected. Between 1980 and 1993, the number of bowlers increased by 10 per cent--which seems good; in the same period, league bowling, when people really talk with one another, even about civic matters, shrunk by 40 per cent--which is not good.

Many other examples can be given. Voter turnout dropped by nearly a quarter between the 1960s and 1990--this cannot be good for democracy. Participation in religious services, and also church social activities has declined by about a sixth since the 1960s. Trade union membership has dwindled from 35 per cent of the non-agricultural workforce in 1954 to 16 per cent now. More than 12 million people belong to parent-teacher associations in the early 1960s compared with fewer than 7 million in the early 90s. Far fewer people are volunteering to help with organisations such as the Boy Scouts and the Red Cross, or wanting to join fraternal clubs such as the Lions or the Elks.

The mirror image of this is that the average American household spent about three hours a day watching television in 1954, but over 7 hours in 1994. In 1960, 19 per cent of married women with children had jobs outside the home; by 1993, 60 per cent did.

Another generation of this deterioration will make America merely a middling country in the civil-society league. That's not good at all.

From an article by Robert Putnam in Journal of Democracy, January 1995

In 1991, the arrival of anti-social tenants into north Benwell, in Newcastle's West End, triggered a maelstrom of burglery, harrassment and arson, wrecking scores of homes and driving out many frightened residents. Local people described in as 'the terror', 'a nightmare', and a 'war zone'. Consultants Blake Stevenson warned that a lapse into civil disorder was a serious possibility. Up to 75 per cent was wiped off the value of homes, leaving them almost unsellable, even for less than £10,000, and their owner-occupiers burdened with huge negative equity. Wrecked flats have sold for £1,000.

In November, a 'North Benwell New Beginnings' plan won £1.1 million under the government's Single Regeneration Budget programme. Also, several other schemes and crime-fighting plans have been started. This year will test whether these fledgling schemes can achieve what, in most places, would be modest aspirations.

From an article in the Financial Times, 11 January 1995

Recently I gave my Grade 10 English students a creative poetry assignment, leaving the subject matter open to them. What I received, overwhelmingly, were poems of cynicism and despair.

One student wrote, "Fear swamps us in a trance . . . laughing at our circumstance." Another: "I have not a battle left to fight. In my grave I will stay alone and unloved." And another: "The fallout has begun, oppressive damage done." Suicide also came up. "What's there to live for? Why shouldn't I die?" Another student wrote: "One time my friend took a flight into the night jumped off a cliff and saw the white light. He hit the river that ran in rage. I felt that everything had aged. I heard him scream--my heart cried as I died inside."

Poverty and social inequities were described directly by one student who wrote in a pedestrian tone that "it's not as pleasant as it was so long ago. Some people have so much, others so little, and if you're down there's no hope."

"The future in my mind is unheard of," writes one of my students. Her poem ends with these lines: "I am wondering, who will be standing tomorrow? As the past disappears and time moves on, we notice not one but all things have gone wrong."

When I handed back the poems, I wanted to tell them it wasn't really all that bad; that it was going to get better. But I couldn't.

From an article by Brian Pastoor in Toronto Star, 12 June 1995

The inhabitants of a poverty-stricken Indian village in Mysore have a better life than people in Glasgow's Easterhouse area. The latter is a soulless place where people are demoralised and face a meaningless future. The penniless tribesman living in a mud hut in the Nigris Hills is better off. It was a shock to us to see that the unemployed people of Easterhouse had cars and televisions and refrigerators--incredible wealth to many Indians--and yet they were apathetic and had no hope. Around them were visible signs of drug abuse, terrible vandalism, street gangs and daily violence. Despite their possessions, they are worse of than the poorest tribesman.

In India, the poor still have initiative. Every day, you see them scavenging in the garbage heaps for junk. If they find something of the slightest value, they will take it and sell it somewhere. They will do odd jobs whenever they're available. They are doing something to keep body and soul together.

But in Easterhouse, there's a heaviness in the air which you don't experience in the Indian slum. We were trying to work out why. Then it hit us. We had never met a man in India who had been unemployed for 20 years as some of the Easterhouse residents. Indians experience seasonal unemployment but not 20 years of purposeless, meaningless existence. However, the Easterhouse women are different. They are still resilient and put energy and enthusiasm into various voluntary projects. The depressing factor was the lack of involvement by the males.

From an article in the Daily Telegraph, 10 March 1995

One in five Britons are rejecting materialism and "conspicuous consumption" in favour of personal fulfilment and quality of life, according to new research. The change, identified by the polling organisation MORI, is part of a deep-seated global shift in values which observers argue will act as a brake on the world economy. A quarter of a century ago, the proportion of so-called "post-materialists" in Britain was only only 1 in 20.

For the first time, there are also more post-materialists than "materialists"--people who attach a high personal value to economic issues--in the British population. Only 15 per cent class themselves as materialists. The shift to post-materialism in Western society has been described as the "silent revolution". It appears to accompany urbanisation and industrialism and is strongly linked to environmental awareness and a rejection of consumerist lifestyles.

However, the post-materialists may be bad news for governments: they appear to form an important part of Britain's new "culture of protest". They are, for example, much more dissatisfied with the political staus quo and much more likely to campaign against it. More than a third of post-materialists feel that economic conditions will deteriorate. All these are part of a decline of confidence in large institutions, decreased dependence on the state, a preference for small, flexible, grass-roots organisations and a tendency for social change to be "bottom-up, not top-down"--initiated by people rather than institutions. Post-materialists are happier at the prospect of flexible working and having several jobs in a lifetime. Materialists want a job for life.

From an article in the Independent on Sunday, 4 June 1995

Before we reach the joys of VE-Day celebrations announced last week, there are wretched war-time anniversaries to be marked. Just ahead are the golden jubilees of the bombing of that beautiful city of Dresden out of revenge, of the firing of Bremen with incendiaries, and the discovery of Auschwitz and the terrible suffering of the Jews of Europe.

I have been marshalling my thoughts, 50 years later, on such experiences. What should we be thinking now? What should I be telling my grandchildren. Fifty years ago, in the rubble of Europe, we found ourselves peering into a deep abyss which augured ill for the future of the human race. The memory will fade, but it will not go away for a long time to come, and it will have a restraining influence.

We have not altogether changed our ways. We still permit dreadful suffering to be inflicted in other people's countries by anti-personnel mines, which for selfish reasons, we refuse to stop producing and selling. We have not reformed. Human nature has not changed. But half a century ago, we discovered the extent to which global war could debase the human race, and that was a salutary discovery. When all these anniversaries come up--to say nothing of Hiroshima--that is what I should like to get across to my grandchildren."

From W. F. Deedes' column in the Daily Telegraph, 17 January 1995

The Henley Centre, the UK forecasting group, has attempted to analyse how consumer behaviour is likely to evolve. The study sees increasing polarisation between the technological haves and have-nots, and points out the danger of writing-off conventional media entirely. Many will continue to use the TV as a source of companionship, entertainment and relaxation, because they cannot afford any of the other income or out-of-home leisure activities. Henley identifies four different groups of consumers:

(a) "Technophiles" (estimated at 24 per cent of the population) are enthusiastic about technology in a general sense and also show a high level of interest in the application of new technology. They are concentrated among the under-35s, are more likely to be male than female, and are more likely to belong to middle social grades;

(b) "Aspirational technophiles" (22 per cent ) are excited in a general sense about technology but are much less interested in its applications. They are more likely to be male than female and from the top social levels;

(c) "Functionals" (25 per cent) claim to be uninterested in technology but are not hostile to its applications, especially in those areas which offer an enhancement of existing services. These consumers are more likely to be female than male and are most numerous among the over-45s;

(d) "Technophobes" (28 per cent), in the over-60s, are hostile to technology at all levels and are sceptical about whether technology can offer anything new.

From Job Society Newsletter, March 1995 by Stephen Leumas

We have little grasp of our true nature, of what it is to be human--that humanity is part of nature and has co-evolved among all the other species. Our heritage is not derived from the mere 8,000 years or so of recorded history, but from thousands of generations.

We must propose human nature as a matter for serious contemplation. The picture of us that is emerging is still hazy and contested, but the outlines would be familiar enough to most novelists. The sexual dance is of particular fascination. To get his genes into the next generation, it is in a man's interests to persuade both himself and the woman he woos that he is in love. To protect herself against lies and exploitation and find a good parent for her children, it is a woman's interests to have greater emotional insight, and to be sexually reticent, at least at first.

As hunters we evolved an ability to co-operate. We are also quick to retaliate, and males are undoubtedly the more aggressive. Young men need a period of exhibitionism, of challenge, of finding their status among their peers and within the adult community. But this is denied to so many today. We drift into hierarchies, even though we think we might be capable of organising ourselves differently. We have vague longings for the wide open spaces of our ancestral environment and the brains of hunter-gatherers of the east African savannah. In our newly concocted urban environment, we could be excused for appearing a little confused, not entirely nice, and rather like lost sheep.

From Ian McEwan in the Financial Times, 7 January 1995

Eight of the most senior of Britain's Civil Service have blamed the government for the growth of an underclass. They say it is creating "islands of poverty, disaffection and social division". They conclude that the most deprived have been least able to take advantage of the drive to widen choice in housing, education and wealth.

They identified long-term unemployment as the most worrying element of modern society. In addition, there have been policies which have contributed to the growth of areas of under-achievers. Among these are: (a) Bus deregulation which has led to the withdrawal of services to some of the poorest housing estates; (b) Incentives to tenants of local authorities and housing associations to move out of social housing which has led to the better-half and more vigorous moving away from poorer areas, leaving them as inner city ghettoes in which up to 80 per cent of the inhabitants are without jobs; (c) Education policies which discourage schools from "targeting" disaffected pupils and assisting them to become more motivated; (d) The growth in housing benefit following reduced subsidy of rents for social housing which has led to greater dependency on benefits; (e) The abolition of the married couple's tax allowance which has contributed directly to the number of unmarried mothers; (f) Enhanced social security payments for single parents, which provides a "perverse" disincentive to unemployed fathers to live under the same roof as their parents.

From an article by Peter Kellner in Sunday Times, 12 February 1995

I am still persuaded that there is no historical alternative to market structures and the liberal democratic state. Further, I believe that what really counts, is not mainly the performance of the individual (the market pure and simple) nor the performance of the state (democracy on a large scale), but what occupies the space between--which I call "social capital".

By this I mean the myriad forms of intermediate associations, which include companies and churches, sailing clubs and charities. The vitality of these is essential to the functioning of both the market and democracy. The countries that have the most dynamic economies hitherto are also those with the most vigorous network of intermediate associations: the US, Germany and Japan.

However, this network is beginning to disintegrate in the US and may also start disappearing in the others. The US faces a crisis of associational life. The art of associating is an important economic virtue, because it is an inherently flexible manner of facing challenges. People who trust each other and feel responsible to each other are good at adapting to new conditions. When all that is left of the rich texture of society is a contract between individuals, then America will be in real trouble. Indeniably, that is where we seem to be headed. We already accept to a great degree Adam Smith's view of the world. Not having enough free economic change is not our problem now; our problem is the unravelling moral cohesion of societies that were once bound by the habits of religion, community or family. We can no longer assume that these 'bedrock social realities' will survive economic change.

From an article Francis Fukuyama in the Financial Times, February 1995

"Something is happening to the middle classes. All over the developed world, they feel it as a vague presentiment, a fin de siecle disenchantment with politics, with economic recovery that is passing them by, or even as the sharp stab of unemployment. The great western middle class is feeling sick. It is witnessing its own demise: the collapse of socialism has coincided with the advance of a new proletariat, the short-term contract technological consultant. Today, the dominant reality is that of an unpredictable, post-industrial world."

From an article by James Morgan in the Financial Times, 14 January 1995

"Feelings of economic uncertainty, once the prerogative of manual workers, have now bitten deep into the white-collar middle classes, according to Gallup Poll data. Almost all professional people, managers and office staff no longer feel safe. Many fear redundancy. Most imagine their children will have difficulty in finding jobs. Nearly half fear that their disposable incomes will fall during 1995."

From an article by Anthony King in the Daily Telegraph, 10 January 1995

"The middle classes are entering a highly stressful 'age of uncertainty' in which many of them will only work on a freelance basis. While the new work environment will affect everyone, the change will be at its most fundamental for professional and white-collar workers. A good education used to be a ticket to success and a permanent job. That's no longer the case. The 'feel-bad' factor is not simply caused by job insecurity, but a deep concern that permanent posts will be simply unavailable in the future".

From a paper by Prof Cary Cooper, British Psychological SocietyConference, 3 January 1995

"Our careers used to be something that happened to us; they were developed for us by the organisation for which we worked. In the future it will be very different. Governments may not want to say it but 'independents'--those outside the organisation in self-employment, part-time work or unemployed--now amount to over 40 per cent in every advanced country, and the proportion is growing."

From an article by Charles Handy, in The World in 1995

"Computers are about to cut a swathe through the protected ranks of professional people. Software will start replacing them. Human skills will still be needed and well paid, but only for such truly skilled occupations such as gardening, the problem is that the professional classes have not begun to understand this."

From an article by Norman Macrae in The Sunday Times, 4 December 1994

"The job as a way of compartmentalising work in a continuous way is going to disappear. Pursuing the concept of job creation is a waste of time and effort. By the year 2020, our job chase will look like fighting over the deck chairs on the Titanic. Before the Industrial Revolution, the word "job" meant doing a task, not a post or position that would keep on lasting forever. We're now returning to the previous meaning of the word. In the post-job society, most company middle managers will go, hierarchies will disappear and many top managers will also go when their particular project target has been realised. They will have to devise new projects and offer them around. One of the reasons I like working for myself is that nobody is going to retire me."

From the book, Jobshift by William Bridges, 1995)

They have been pushed too far, too often. People throughout Britain are increasingly taking the law into their own hands and delivering summary justice to violent criminals by forming vigilante gangs. They are taking direct action in frustration at the perceived lack of activity by the police and apparent lenient sentencing. Scores of cases have emerged, including massed assaults on thugs, kidnappings and one incident where a thief was tied to a lampost and beaten.

In the past two months in Nottinghamshire, officers have gone to the aid of a car thief after he was run over by one of his victims riding a motorcycle, and visited the house of a delinquent after locals hurled a wheelie-bin through his front window. Residents in the north-east town of Stockton-on-Tees, have warned police that they will take the law into their own hands. In Birmingham, vigilantes have restored order to a red-light district. A vigilante group has also been set up on the Nottingham estate where Steve Vincent, who was badly beaten by three gang members, was given a conditional discharge last year after attacking the house and car of the gangleader's girl-friend. Michael Levi, a criminologist at Cardiff University, said that people were disillusioned with the judicial system and no longer confident that the police could provide protection. "This will become a long-term trend."

Newsletter, Job Society, April 1995

Some of my best friends are cannibals. They live on the Casuarina Coast, the delta area of Irian in Indonesia New Guinea. There are about 20,000 of them and they call themselves the Asmat, which mean "the human beings". All outsiders are known very simply as Manowe -- "the edible ones". They have probably been manhunters for thousands of years, but the only acts that they regard as "evil" are those which are ecologically unsound in their situation. They eat those from other tribes happily for ecologically sound reasons because their habitats are poor in protein and it reduces competition on the limited hunting and fishing grounds.Otherwise, they would not have survived.

Headhunting expeditions are never undertaken lightly nor without warning. They are the formal and ritual expression of a need to keep things in balance No battle continues beyond one or two killings that necessity and ceremonial require. It is not simple and has nothing to do with war. They are appalled by accidental death or death in anger.

The Asmat are not travesties of human nature. Their tendency to divide the world into "us" and "them", into members and non-members, friend or foe, is one of the few true human universals, something common to all people everywhere. Homo Sapiens is considered a single biological species. We are. But this tendency to consider one's own group as different and superior is so widespread that it creates a need to see ourselves, in cultural terms at least, as different species. Such discrimination comes easily to us, because we carry in every cell in our bodies, the DNA which is a genetic reminder of who we are. This chemical conscience ensures that, when faced with complex social situations that require choices to be made, we give preference to those most like us. The instructions are straightforward: "Be nice to insiders", spreading such instinctive concern down at least to the level of third cousins with whom we share 1/128 of our inherited DNA. Anyone beyond that is beyond the genetic pale and falls foul of the second simple directive, which says: "Be nasty to outsiders". Everybody does it.

From "Dark Nature" (Hodder & Stoughton, 1995)