Excerpt from Papers and Proceedings, Fourteenth Annual Meeting American Sociological Society, Vol. 14: Held at Chicago, Ill., December, 29-31, 1919; The Problem of Democracy However in taking stock of progress it must be realized that the whole social world is in a state Of unrest. Not a normal line Of business, of politics, Of philanthropy, or of education, nor an unbroken line of rational thought, is in existence. Hence one should not be pessimistic nor dogmatic in the consideration of this maelstrom of conflicting interests. Even though traditions are lost, forms and systems broken, hopes blasted, and fear domi nant, these are days to lay the foundation of progress. Lessons may be learned, better conditions of life established, and larger plans Of reconstruction utilized if patience, wisdom, and hope rule. Below the present unrest, confusion, and maladministration of society are the strong life-forces Of national righteousness and justice. In the confusion of opinion and the conflict of ideas are the millions of the loyal majority ready to serve where the thinkers and leaders of a sane democracy shall point the way. But many false notions must be disposed of, many theories be analyzed, a definite program of democracy established, by the thinkers and workers of America. To lay a foundation of future building we must know what the people are and what they believe. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.