A Sociological Perspective II: Philip Slater
Another sociologist, Philip Slater (1970/1976), begs to differ with David Riesman. The problem of loneliness resides primary in the individualistic bias to be found in modern cultures (particularly in the United States) rather that in some over reliance on the opinions and behavior of other people. There is not enough of the “crowd”—rather than too much crowd. Slater (1970/1976, p. xiii-xiv) first makes this point in his poignantly conveyed myth of American:
“Once upon a time there was a man who sought escape from the prattle of mis neighbors and went to live alone in a hut he had found in the forest. At first he was content, but a bitter winter led him to cut down the trees around his hut for firewood. The next summer he was hot and uncomfortable because his hut had no shade, and he complained bitterly of the harshness of the elements.
He made a little garden and kept some chickens; but rabbits were attracted by the food in the garden and ate much of it. The man went into the forest and trapped a fox, which he tamed and taught to catch rabbits. But the fox ate up the man’s chickens as well. The man shot the fox and cursed the perfidy of the creatures of the wild.
The man always threw his refuse on the floor of his hut and soon it swanned with vermin. He then built an ingenious system of hooks and pulleys so that everything in the hut could be suspended from the ceiling. But the strain was too much for the flimsy hut and it soon collapsed. The man grumbled about the inferior construction of the hut and built himself a new one.
One day he boasted to a relative in his old village about the peaceful beauty and plentiful game surrounding his forest home. The relative was impressed and reported back to his neighbors, who began to use the area for picnics and hunting excursions. The man was upset by this and cursed the intrusiveness of mankind. He began posting signs, setting traps, and shooting at those who came near his dwelling. In revenge groups of boys would come at night from time to time to frighten him and steal things. The man took to sleeping every night in a chair by the window with a loaded shotgun across bis knees. One night he turned in his sleep and shot off his foot. The villagers were chastened and saddened by this misfortune and thereafter stayed away from his part of the forest. The man became lonely and cursed the unfriendliness and indifference of his former neighbors. And in all of this the man saw no agency except what lay outside himself. for which reason, and because of his ingenuity, the villagers called him the American.”
Contained in this myth are three elements that Slater (1970/1976, pp. 8-9) wishes to identify and analyze regarding the creation of loneliness: (1) the desire for community, (2) the desire for engagement, and (3) the desire for dependence. The American seems to have lost a desire for each of these three elements that make up a viable society and that lead us away from loneliness. He, like all Americans, is producing that which is a source of major frustration for us.
Specifically, Slater’s (1970/1976, p. 9) thesis is that Americans have voluntarily created and voluntarily maintained, a society that downplays or even discouraged the fulfillment of these needs. They go “underground” and in this capacity gain greater power and produce harm (including loneliness). Given this dynamic of production and frustration, I think it is important to summarize Slater’s approach to each of these elements and relate each to other factors I have already identified in this essay.
