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The celebrity cult has to be sharply distinguished from hero worship as its precondition is to be well known, no matter for what reason. It has been a product of American culture and is closely associated with modernity, individualism, egalitarianism and a moral, cultural and aesthetic relativism. It is part of popular culture and is also stimulated by the pervasive entertainment orientation of American society. Celebrity worship may provide vicarious gratification to people who seek to escape anonymity and believe that they do not get sufficient amounts of attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though prejudice and discrimination exist in America, it has been steadily declining and measurably so. From our very beginnings, there has been a diversity, accretion, succession, and simultaneity of racial, religious, ethnic, and gender victims and victimizers. Fortunately, there has also been a process of meliorism, epitomized by the presidential election of a black American of mixed racial parents—Barack Hussein Obama. Regardless of their group identity, today’s generation of Americans has less victims or victimizers and has more social, political, and economic opportunities than their parents. grandparents, and predecessors had. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers the books "Democracy in America," by Alexis de Tocqueville and "The Lonely Crowd," by David Reisman as vital interpretations of the American society. It addresses the lack of credentials of both Reisman and Tocqueville as sociologists. It criticizes the social aspects presented in the books. It emphasizes the importance of the two books in the field of social science research.

This article discusses the social developments in the U.S. from the 1950s to the 1990s. To the people from the 1990s, the 1950s was a period of simplicity and conformity, a thought which the people from the 1950s did not share. The people of the 1950s, having recently experienced World War II and the depression, were in the middle of a massive and complex social change. Several books were written about this era, ranging from Our Times, by Mark Sullivan, to The Perils of Prosperity, by William Leuchtenburg.

This article focuses on reforms made to the U.S. welfare state from its creation during the 1930s to the 1990s. The welfare state was originally created by the government to help the families affected by the great depression. It later evolved into a system to aid retirees and the needy. Sixty years later, the system has undergone further changes, each successive president making reforms to match the social conditions. The system during the 1990s centers around various issues such as the privatization of the system or the role of individual management of savings versus government management.

This article focuses on the future of homelessness in the U.S. as of 1998. A simplified history of homelessness during the past two decades helps provide a context for different scenarios. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, those working in social services realized that more than the usual number of persons were living on the street without shelter. They responded by building shelters and opened food kitchens, but with minimal success. It soon came to the attention of the government, which instituted federal programs to control the situation. As the years passed, the programs underwent several changes to match the social conditions of the times.

This article examines the influence of the underclass on political and social culture in the U.S. Whether public opinion is rallied to address the plight of the underclass, whose problems resist conventional efforts at social engineering, or the predicament of the working poor, has significant implications for future directions of social policy. The problems of the working poor do not usually require intensive program; to change norms and behaviors. Measures such as extending health insurance coverage of Medicaid to low income families, increasing the federal Earned Income Tax Credit and introducing state Earned Income Tax Credits and revising the mortgage interest deductions to incorporate a refundable mortgage tax credit would do much to promote the security of the working poor. These are costly measures, but they do not involve the creation of new bureaucracies manned by trainers, counselors, therapists and other change agents--the benefits go directly to the working poor. Of course, social policy can move on more than one front at the same time. However, if society cannot ensure a modicum of security and material well-being for those who work and play by the rules, how can any policies be designed to bring the underclass into the mainstream?

The article focuses on a report that highlights the strengths of the U.S. in global economic and social perspectives. The report titled "American Public Opinion and U.S. Foreign Policy 1999," issued by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations publication, establishes that with the beginning of new millennium, Americans feel secure, prosperous and confident. They feel the United States to be the world's most important and powerful country, they consider the threats from a rival superpower to be diminished. Americans think military power to be more important than economic position, in deciding measure of global strength of a country.

Comments on the prospects of prosperity for the U.S. Reality behind teenage births and crime rate in the country; Factors which contributed to the illusion of growth in the gross national product; Remedy to social implosion.

The article presents information on the findings of the 1998 survey, titled "What's Wrong: A Survey of American Satisfaction and Complaint." The survey examines the views of Americans on their personal and national life. It was found that people are confident about future opportunities, and they recognize significant improvements in American life from the past. Americans were found to be skeptic about politics and politicians. The survey found that the moral dimension of modern life leaves Americans profoundly troubled.