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315 Annals Am. Acad. Pol. & Soc. Sci. vii (1958)

handle is hein.cow/anamacp0315 and id is 1 raw text is: FOREWORD Any theoretically systematic collection of articles by different authors may well need a foreword. Because the different authors possess different knowledges, ex- hibit varying breadths of orientation, write with different purposes, utilize methods or logics of various disciplines and philosophies, the reader may need some yard- stick or some particular set of intellectual eyeglasses to appreciate the fact that there is a system and to evaluate each part in terms of the whole. If there is no theoretical system, if the articles are just arranged, say alphabetically, then a fore- word merely needs to indicate the particular abstract order and the means available to the reader to. find the subject in which he is interested; such a collection is of the order of a telephone book, dictionary, or customer's catalogue. In purpose this collection represents a theoretical system. It does not pretend to cover the entire field, but it suggests that the subject matters, modes of ap- proach and viewpoints in these articles are minimal requirements for the person who would have an appreciation of the problems of alcoholism in the United States. On the other hand, no one of the articles is supposed to be a manual for the expert or artist or administrator in his own field. The order of presentation is rather standard: what is the phenomenon we are talking about and how have understanding and action of the past influenced cur- rent interpretation and procedure; then the physiological, psychological, and socio- logic aspects of the condition are discussed; this is followed by four descriptions of alcoholics and a report on the alcoholic's family-how it affects him and vice versa; finally there are five articles on certain formal systems of response, mainly thera- peutic, to the alcoholic and the condition of alcoholism. Many other subjects could have been selected: inheritance; the hangover; legal and religious aspects; alcohol- ism and problem drinking in the armed services or industry; the psychotic alco- holic; drug treatments for intoxication; the hospital, psychological conditioning, or pastoral counseling in alcoholism therapy; antiscientific attitudes in America as seen in this field. Because alcoholism is an emergent condition stemming from chemical, physio- logical, psychological, and sociologic preconditions, because responses to alcoholism cut across every segment and institution of our society, and because the painful and destructive impact of the condition is not only extensive but is experienced and for generations has been experienced in almost every sector of our society, there is practically no subject relevant to American life which is not relevant to alcoholism. The question of topic selection, however, was not equally problematic throughout the collection. The subject matter or approach of the first seven articles would probably be considered essential for any systematic approach to alcoholism; this does not imply either that the specific report here presented would be the best or that each could not be greatly elaborated. Greater is the question concerning se- lection of topic applied to the next four subjects, since there are many types of al- coholics and many ways of describing them. Perhaps the greatest degree of ques- tion concerned description and analysis of what is done about it? Finally, one might ask why is there no grand summation about what does it all mean, where do we go from here, what about prevention, science, and education? After some soul-searching your editor decided to leave this to the reader or, perhaps more vii

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