College of
Business
Administration
College of
Business
Administration
The Good Society (Robert Bellah)
1) Do you believe our society has lost its trust in traditional American institutions like government and religion?
2) Do you think government institutions should be used as a crutch for Americans?
3) Are we drastically uninformed about the current institutions that affect our everyday lives?
4) Do you believe Americans are happier at work being challenged on a daily basis or are they happier during leisure time? What are the current goals of the American worker?
5) Bellah writes on page 110, "Americans seem caught in a conundrum: many realize that the old institutions and ways are working badly, but our inherited pattern is so powerful that it inhibits the quest for a new paradigm that would respond to present realities." What about the American pattern of being lulled to sleep by the old way of doing things?
6) Has the rise of consumerism made our lives more difficult?
7) Do we as Americans rely too much on educational institutions to solve the ills of society?
8) Is the loss of focus on public religion the major reason for the decline of overall morals in today's society? What other factors play a major role?
9) Comment on the following statement, "Many powerful institutions that influence our lives and consume much of our energies- economic, governmental, educational- pull us apart; they seem to pressure us to compete for individual advantage rather than to combine for the common welfare, and they empty out meaning from our lives when they structure our existence as a competitive race for money, power, prestige, or the consumer goods that symbolize them."
10) Is American society better at a time of questioning or at a time of absolute belief in the American dream? Think about the differences between the mid-1950's and the late 1960's.
11) How responsible is America to the common good of the world? Does the world function better when America in the clear "Number One" nation?
12) Are American institutions not paying enough attention to our young people? What are the ramifications?
13) Is the Good Society within our reach today? Are we as far away from the ideal society as the book suggests and do we need to radically overhaul our current institutions?
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