NONTHEMATIC / Vol. 22, No. 3 (Fall 1955)
- Social Research An Int'l Quarterly
- Oct 1, 1955
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 22, 2023
The needs of the welfare client in a democratic society are the needs of the ordinary citizen, fully articulated in the constitutional guarantee of access to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is true that persons in deprived circumstances, whether through misfortune, accident, or disability, require help; but, in a timeworn yet accurate phrase, the help they need is only to help themselves. The greatest requirement of welfare and public-assistance recipients is for a rational arrangement of the social and economic environment which will afford them an equal start and an open field in the common pursuit of happiness.
The word 'theory' denotes an organized set of ideas about reality. 'Empirical' theories are generalizations about observable reality. 'Ethical' theories express some degree of preference or distaste about reality in accordance with certain a priori standards of evaluation; and some ethical theories state the ideal goals toward which reality is out to be changed. 'Metaphysical' or 'theological' theories are attempts by some writers to discover the ultimate nature of reality transcending the observable; and some of these theories are attempts to establish an ultimate justification for certain ethical convictions.
The recent decision of the United States Supreme Court in the public-school segregation cases may have transformed Plessy v. Ferguson into an historical relic but one mischievous doctrine announced in that 1896 case still exerts its baleful influence.
Will Maslow's thesis is an extension to a special situation of the ancient belief that the law may be used, and may be used expediently, to regulate conduct, and the encourage, even to create, certain kinds of equality.
The traditional methods of studying French political history have been used on the tacit assumption that France since 1789 has been a completely different nation from that which existed before 1789.
Shortly before dawn on August 24, 1954, the President of the Republic of Brazil reluctantly agreed to take a ninety-day 'leave of absence.' This decision made, Getulio Vargas retired to his office to write an inflammatory testament, a document virtually inciting revolution among the people of Brazil. At 8:20 a.m. Getulio Vargas laid aside his pen and shot himself to death.
Tribute to Mirkine-Guetzevitch.
Review of book by William W. Lockwood. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 1954. 603 pp.
Review of book by Adolf A Berle Jr. New York: Harcourt, Brace. 1954. 192 pp.
Review of book by David M. Potter. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1954. 219 pp.
Review of book by Helen S. and Elman R. Service. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1954. 337 pp.