The American Community by Blaine MercerReview by: Sister Mechtraud, S. SP. S.The American Catholic Sociological Review, Vol. 17, No. 4 (Dec., 1956), pp. 366-367Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3708764 .

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366 THE AMERICAN CATHOLIC SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

vance to action; 2. Those committed to the belief had under? taken important actions (e.g., prepare for the end of the world and look for spacemen to come from an outer planet and rescue the believers); 3. The belief had to do specifically with real events that the prophet had predicted so that unequivocal dis- confirmation could be observed; 4. Undeniable disconfirmatory evidence occurred; 5. The individual believer had social support.

Very much can be learned from this study not only about social movements but also about human psychology. Some very pertinent data have also been gathered concerning the attempts of social scientists to become passive participant observers. This last mentioned effort was found by these sociologists to be almost impossible. One observer, for instance, found that his unobstructive entrance into the group raised the hopes of the believers that he might be the pilot of a flying saucer they were looking for to take them safely to another planet. Even an ex?

pression of interest in the esoteric movement laid one open to proselyting so that embezzlement was practically forced upon him. Most enlightening was the renewal of confidence after dis- confirmation if social support was available. Lack of social sup? port led to disbelief and dispersal of even confirmed believers.

Sylvester A. Sieber, S.V.D. Loyola University, Chicago 11, III.

The American Community. By Blaine Mercer. New York: Ran- dom House, 1956. Pp. xv+304. $3.75. Much of the confusion existing in the field of the social

sciences and, in particular, in sociology is caused by an am- biguous use and interpretation of terms. The present volume contributes to a greater clarification of certain sociological con? cepts. The author does this in a concise and up-to-date socio? logical analysis. On the basis of this analysis he presents his study on American society in terms of the rural and urban community. The framework of his approach is well chosen: the structural and functional aspect of community and of the American community in particular. The various aspects of community life are discussed such as patterns of change, cul? tural characteristics, social differentiation, status and role. Four chapters deal with the basic institutions of the community; the family, religion, education, government^ and economy.

Basic to all these discussions is the "knowledge of man" as the author states it (p. 3). Man is considered only as social being; his human nature can be understood only in the context of his social life; he has his very being in social relationships (p. 3), and it is "group living which makes man human" (p. 24). These and similar statements point to the author's so? ciologistic approach; obviously, then, human acts as they present themselves in social relationships are reduced to a mere chain system of stimulus and reaction. This may explain why various and important aspects of community life have not been discussed.

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THE AMERICAN CATHOLIC SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW 367

Mention may be made only of the growing influence the modern parish exerts on community life. The Church is not just an "organization founded on a set of social norms and behavior patterns" (p. 224) as the author describes it. Its origin, pur? pose, norms, and sanctions are of a much more basic and lasting character. Hence, its prof ound influence on man and his social relationships, particularly also on the more primary relation? ships of a community. Aside from this, however, The American Community presents a wealth of information to the reader who is interested in the various aspects and functions of modern community life. Sister Mechtraud, S.SP.S. Holy Ghost College, Manila, P. I.

Worterbuch der Soziologie. Edited by W. Bernsdorf and F, Bulow. Stuttgart-W. (Germany) : Ferdinand Enke Verlag, 1955. Pp. viii+640. $7.10. This reference book is a successor to the well-known Hand-

worterbuch der Soziologie (Stuttgart 1931), edited by Alfred Vierkandt, and long out of print. Vierkandt's work was really more a collection of articles, alphabetically arranged, on funda- mental questions of sociology by leading (mostly German) authors, among them Catholic authorities such as Gotz Briefs, Gustav Gundlach, Georg Holtker, and Wilhem Koppers. The new work is not an encyclopedia either, but a dictionary somewhat similar to that edited by H. P. Fairchild (New York 1944), but more extensive than its American counterpart. It contains some 350 articles of varous lengths and value. Paging through this Ger? man dictionary of sociology one is struck by the evidence of the tremendous influence which American sociology has exer- cised on our German colleagues in the quarter century since the appearance of Vierkandt's above mentioned "summary." This reviewer counted some 25 articles and cross-references using English titles (as, e.g., Case Study, Community, Cultural Lag, Human Relations, Pressure Groups, Public Relations, Sample, So? cial Control), not to speak of the very frequent use of English sociological terms or of more or less literal translations of such terms (e.g., Feldforschung for "field work") in the text of many of the articles. The numerous bibliographies are full of refer? ences to American publications. Among the contributors are three Americans (0. K. Flechtheim, Kansas City, Mo; A. L. Leschnitzer, Forest-Hill, N. Y.; F. K. Mann, Washington, D. C), probably all refugees from Hitler.

What German sociologists seem not to have learned from their American colleagues is the emphasis on the distinctive character of the sociological viewpoint. Their concept of soci? ology, at least as reflected in this dictionary, is far too broad. There are scores of articles in this book which just do not be? long there ? unless one considers "sociology" as just another word for "social sciences." Catholics will find the articles on natural law, property, common good, person, solidarism, social

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