ABSTRACT
The study of social problems is marred by intellectual timidity and mired in moral ambiguity. One big reason for pervasive categorizing of social problems in American sociology is that few, if any, writers attempt to stipulate what is not a social problem. Social problems basically derive from social disorganization, which in turn is the outcome of the processes of change and development. The duality of science as it affects the study of social problems is a duality that more properly involves the "applied" activities of the professional social scientist. The most elusive problem of social problems as social practice relates to connections established between analysts and patients. Some social problems experts claim that the reinforcer role should be the sociologist's role, since in this role he can participate without pontificating. Whether or not there is a scientific basis for a sociology of social problems raises a powerful problem of a strategic decision.
