8. Are crowds likely to be more conservative or more radical than the individuals who compose them? Give your reasons. What is the difference between a mob, a crowd, a meeting, and a deliberative assembly?
9. The family, as an organization, differs not only in size but in nature, from all other social organizations such as the community, the state and the nation. Show how this is.
10. In what ways would society suffer if the family as a social unit were broken down?
11. To what extent has society the right to regulate, as a measure of self-protection, the institution of marriage?
12. Why have we laid emphasis upon individualism in this country? Explain why this stress is being steadily diminished.
13. Should social control be exercised over (a) the methods of agriculture; (b) the marketing of timber; (c) the production and sale of tobacco; (d) the rates charged by electric lighting companies; (e) the price of bread at retail bakeries; (f) the hours of labor for men; (g) the hours of labor for women; (h) the kind of pictures shown in theaters; (i) the diet of the people; (j) the hours at which young people may be on the streets after dark; (k) the religious beliefs of the people? Tell why or why not in each case. Is a greater degree of social control justified over certain classes of the population than over others? Is it justified at certain times and not at others?
14. If society exercises too little control over the individual, what evils result? If it exercises too much control, what are the consequences (a) upon the individual; (b) upon society itself?
Topics for Debate
1. Physical environment has had a more important influence than racial characteristics in determining the establishment and maintenance of democratic institutions in the United States.
2. Thomas Jefferson was right when he said “That government is best which governs least”.