Abstract

Lodge’s thoughtful study is a mixture of political science, history, and economics drawn together by a central philosophical theme. The author seeks to explore the issue of the legitimacy of social institutions, and he raises certain questions concerning the nature of man in society as well as the relationship between ideology and social values. In his view, the dominant social institutions that grew with the United States were founded upon a "Lockean" ideology. At the core of this ideology was the concept of man as an atomistic unit. Reflecting this concept, the traditional American ideology stressed five components: first, individualism as the basic social value; second, property as the guarantee of human rights; third, competition as the dynamic of social interaction; fourth, the limited state; fifth, scientific/technological specialization. Lodge reviews the development of this ideology and argues that it has led to an ever-increasing fragmentation of society and a frustration of social purpose. As the Lockean paradigm proved itself inadequate to resolve problems in a world of interdependent and interwoven social wholes, the need for a new American ideology became apparent.