Converging social trends, emerging social problems.

  • United States. Welfare Administration. Division of Research.
Date:
1964]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Converging social trends, emerging social problems. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Med be acceptable in this country, a level of living must not merely provide some food, but sufficient food; not shel- ter only, but sound housing; as well as health care, edu- cational opportunities, and other goods and services that are considered essential by the majority of citizens. As expectations rise, opportunities for realizing them ' must also rise. IDENTITY OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS Some of the trends which have contributed to rising expectations in our society have also limited the oppor- tunities for certain groups to fulfill their expectations. Economic Trends Rapid changes in the way goods and services are produced and in the kinds of goods and services needed, as well as shifts in the centers of production, have created corresponding changes in employment oppor- tunities. The decline of farming, mining, and lumbering has caused entire regions to become depressed while new products required for the military, for space explora- tions, and other modern needs have created new centers of industry. Population trends reflect a heavy labor migration to these centers. However, because they need a different type of labor force — with special technical and professional skills — these newer industrial centers are in the paradoxical position of having both high rates of unemployment and serious problems of labor shortage. Although the general effect of economic forces has been to draw the population away from the rural areas into the large urban areas, this movement has not re- lieved rural unemployment problems. Automation and other new technologies applied to the agricultural, lum- bering, and mining industries mean that the rural areas also need workers with qualifications similar to those needed by industries in the metropolitan areas. The economic trends which have increased the de- mand for more highly trained, and thus more highly paid, industrial labor have also increased the demand for professional and service workers because, as incomes rise, so does the demand for services. To the extent that the labor force has adjusted to these shifts in the economy — from a higher to a lower demand for unskilled workers and from a lower to a higher demand for workers with special training — opportunities have paralleled expectations. Cultural Trends Cultural forces, ‘converging with these economic forces, have retarded this adjustment. For example, although the social institution of slavery was abolished over a century ago, cultural patterns derived from it have made it more difficult for the Negro to shift from rural manual labor to urban technological employment. Yet the economic forces have impelled him toward this adjustment. Thus, economic necessity, on the one hand, and cultural barriers which limit his opportunities, on the other hand, have combined to create the social unrest that constitutes one of the Nation’s most serious concerns. Puerto Ricans and other minority groups have been similarly affected by conflicting economic and social forces.