ABSTRACT
In the United States, or France, or England, the holders of similar places sprang mostly from a middle class with long historical traditions and values of its own. The United States, by contrast, was altogether apart. Its material prosperity, its wealth, and its power distinguished it from the world of universal poverty that other men knew. Two world wars, a depression, and massive industrialization accompanied the collapse of ancient institutions. As human life depreciated in value, there seemed but one alternative to despair: somehow to satisfy the desire for dignity and meaning in life through identification with the larger all-comprehending entity of the nation. Every new industrial development called for the employment of technicians, engineers, and managers. The United States seemed to all the participants an anomaly; its experience was not relevant elsewhere in the world.
