ABSTRACT
The question of the sources of our own characteristic outlook is a single aspect of a larger problem, that of the sources of any community's pattern of living. Many explanations have been put forward, which can be classified roughly into two groups, those based on material factors, and those based on social and psychological factors. The social and psychological factors comprise on the one hand social machinery and institutions, such as the parliamentary system of government or the institution of marriage for governing sexual relations and the care of children. The principle of moderation and restraint in politics was first taken up by the Whigs and in 1716 a French observer could still see a contrast between their attitude and the hot-headedness of the Tories. But the movement spread to the Tories and it became a generally accepted principle of English politics that abuses are to be reformed—they must be removed at latest before they have provoked the injured.
