NEF, JOHN U. The United States and Civi lization. Pp. xviii, 421. Chicago: Uni versity of Chicago Press, 1942. $3.00

• Published date: 01 May 1942
• Date: 01 May 1942
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/000271624222100131
• Subject Matter: Articles

197

same

time

that

it

is

true,

he

is

doubly

satis-

fied.

Some

sociologists

may

complain

that

the

classificatory

nomenclature

is

ill-defined;

that

the

subject

of

cultural

integration

is

omitted

from

analysis,

that

these

two

de-

fects

make

the

statistical

work

(from

the

point

of

view

of

both

the

determination

of

units

and

the

adequacy

of

sampling)

rela-

tively

meaningless,

and

that

evaluation

and

fact

are

inextricably

mixed.

But

such

soci-

ologists,

being

wholly

sensate,

are

unable

to

appreciate

the

obvious

truth

which

the

book

contains,

or

else

are

distracted

by

their

sci-

entific

squeamishness.

It

would

be

better,

perhaps,

to

accept

Mr.

Sorokin

simply

as

a

moralist,

and

to

realize

that

the

usual

di-

lemma

of

the

moralist-that

he

is

sound

on

the

end

but

shaky

on

the

means-also

dogs

him.

Certainly

a

society

depends

for

sur-

vival

on

superempirical

as

well

as

empirical

reality,

but

it

is

no

solution,

once

morale

is

lost,

simply

to

reiterate

that

it

must

return.

Mr.

Sorokin

provides

no

means

for,

and

sets

no

example

of,

high

morale.

He

is

purely

and

(to

judge

by

the

sale

of

this

volume)

successfully

inspirational.

KINGSLEY

DAVIS

Pennsylvania

State

College

NEF,

JOHN

U.

The

United

States

and

Civi-

lization.

Pp.

xviii,

421.

Chicago:

Uni-

versity

of

Chicago

Press,

1942.

$3.00.

The

overemphasis

placed

on

worldly

goods

has

led

Western

civilization

into

its

present

chaotic

condition.

Materialism

run

rampant

and

taking

the

United

States,

the

bulwark

of

civilization,

with

it,

is

the

theme

of

Professor

Nef’s

work.

The

author

di-

vides

his

study

into

what

is

wrong

with

civilization,

why

it

is

wrong,

and

what

can

be

done

about

it.

The

book

is

a

compila-

tion

of

lectures

delivered

by

the

author

at

the

University

of

Chicago

under

the

Charles

R.

Walgreen

Foundation,

whose

purpose

as

expressed

in

the

preface

is

to

&dquo;foster

an

intelligent

citizenship

and

patriotism,

not

narrowly

nationalistic

in

their

expression,

and

with

thought

and

knowledge

much

more

than

emotion

as

their

foundation.&dquo;

The

objectives

and

goals

of

the

Foundation

are

carried

out

in

this

volume

in

a

capable,

in-

telligent,

and

instructive

manner.

Working

on

the

thesis

that

Western

civi-

lization

in

Europe

and

America

has

reached

the

end

of

an

epoch

which

began

with

the

Reformation

and

the

voyages

of

discovery,

Professor

Nef

builds

up

the

legend

of

in-

dustrialism.

Going

back

to

the

fifteenth

century

and

carrying

the

narrative

through

to

the

twentieth

century,

the

author

covers

the

causes

and

the

results

of

a

world

gone

&dquo;industrial

conscious.&dquo;

Starting

slowly,

the

pace

began

to

quicken

as

the

nineteenth

century

closed.

Men

soon

forgot

the

God

of

Heaven

for

the

god

of

money.

As

the

tempo

rose

with

the

dawn

of

the

twenti-

eth

century

attuned

to

the

crashing

of

thousands

of

machines

producing

millions

of

articles

for

a

&dquo;material-crazy

public,&dquo;

America

found

herself

with

a

moral

and

intellectual

crisis

on

her

hands.

The

results

of

this

overemphasis

on

mate-

rial

ideology

have

left

their

mark

on

West-

ern

civilization.

As

a

nation

at

war,

the

dangers

that

beset

us

are

not

the

fears

of

losing

the

conflict,

but

the

illusions

held

by

our

people

that

material

progress

alone

will

bring

with

it

victory.

Professor

Nef

sums

up

the

idea

adequately

with

these

words:

&dquo;Totalitarianism

has

been

made

pos-

sible

by

weaknesses

that

Americans,

like

other

opponents

of

totalitarianism,

share

with

peoples

who

have

surrendered

their

liberties....

There

seems

to

be

more

dan-

ger

that

the

world

will

become

totalitarian

than

hope

that

it

will

become

democratic&dquo;

(p.

106).

Material

progress

as

we

know

it

is

on

the

wane,

and

unless

government

can

offer

a

moral,

intellectual,

and

artistic

al-

ternative,

it

may

well

be

the

end

of

our

survival

as

a

great

nation.

Not

a

happy

prospect,

to

be

sure.

We

live

in

an

economic

world

that

needs

to

be

temporized

with

the

teachings

of

Aristotle

and

St.

Thomas

Aquinas.

The

weaknesses

in

our

economic

structure

can

be

strengthened

by

cultivating

leaders

in

the

educational

and

political

fields

who

have

a

solid

foundation

in

moral

philosophy,

in-

tellectual

achievement,

and

the

creative

life.

We

need

a

return

to

the

old,

yet

ever

im-

portant,

personal

attributes

of

truth

and

honesty.

If

the

United

States

can

return

to

the

via

media,

democracy

will

be

safe

within

our

shores,

and

with

the

peace

that

will

follow

this

war,

it

will

permeate

the

whole

of

civilization.

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