International Relations and Sociology
1948; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 13; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2307/2086561
ISSN1939-8271
Autores Tópico(s)Globalization and Cultural Identity
ResumoFROM almost any point of departure one can in a few moments find one's self in the thick of an argument about the essential function and proper attitude of the sociologist. The present topic is no exception. The dark prophecies which begin, We are living in an age when . and conclude with a world that ends not with a whimper but with a bang, might easily pose for us the problem of what we are doing to save the world from imminent disaster. The answer would not be inspiriting. Neither does the world turn to our expertness nor do we urgently proffer our accumulated wisdom. Nowhere is the sociologist as sociologist in demand; geographers, international trade experts, nutrition and agriculture specialists, even people who know something about population, may be in the retinue of technical advisers, on tap but not on top-but not the sociologist. Even an Economic and Social Council turns out to be composed chiefly of representatives of the points of view of economics and social work, not understanding each other very well, I may add, and badly needing the mediation of some of our guild. The case for our inclusion, both for the world's sake and our own, is strong. To hold the Key to Salvation and not to use it is hardly defensible. Now to hear the enthusiasts talk, mutual understanding, to be achieved through the comparative ethnology of civilized peoples, and the adjustment to one another of what are after all variants of the same great culture, is such a key. To speak less extravagantly, the cultural or sociological approach has a contribution to make to the composing of deep-lying differences between great power or international blocs. If there is still a ring of false Utopian-
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