ABSTRACT
That aspect of society which I have been calling the integrative system has been much neglected by social scientists, perhaps because we have associated the study of the moral order with preaching and propaganda and have not perceived that it too contains regularities which may be understood by the methods of the social sciences. The very difficulties which we have run into, however, in attempting to improve the moral order, or the integrative structure of society, suggests that our ignorance of the true relationship and the parameters of the integrative system are a great handicap in our attempts at social betterment. Furthermore, the integrative system is perhaps the most complex aspect of the total social system. Our information system about it is very imperfect and is deficient in measurements and indices, so that often we do not know which way is "up." With all its complexity, however, the integrative system is not a total mystery and it does exhibit regularities which can be studied and discovered.
