ABSTRACT
In this chapter, Joseph Noshpitz begins with a brief synopsis of one of our major human concerns regarding the social, emotional, and physical development and well-being of our future generations. He highlights and underscores a “cadre of social problems” related to the plight of the twentieth century: “the child caught up in the throes of poverty.” All of the plights he goes on to examine in his outstanding review have true influences and potentially devastating consequences to the future healthy and safe growth of our youth and the security of a meaningful society. Here I must personalize my introduction a little. Noshpitz compares “serious developmental problems with which our society is faced,” and he expresses his views as to which of these is the “much graver issue.” There are clearly other plights that are and will have important consequential influences on our civilization’s development.
