The SSSP--Engagements and Contradictions.

The article discusses engagements and contradictions of Society for the Study of Social Problems. A primary challenge is transcending the notion of an applied social science. That term implies that social science outlooks and findings are translated into ideas and language that could be used by action organizations. The clear implication is that social science teaches activists and that it does not learn from action and activists. A second contradiction, challenge or tension, lies in the thin, but crucial, line between commitment and partisanship. Commitment is to an issue or a class or identity group. A third contradiction is between knowing the world one analyze and not knowing it. Gaining deep knowledge is no easy matter. One can learn about the past and present. It is important to operate on the principle that concrete knowledge about concrete things is basic. It doesn't substitute for knowing theories, but then, theories don't substitute for specific knowledge, even as one recognizes the uncertainties embedded in what passes for knowledge. One should not rely on what similarly minded people say is knowledge. Knowing what the critically minded say may be useful to know and evaluate.