The Regime of the South

In the national controversy raging over segregated schooling, we often hear of “the Southern way of life.” I suggest that this phrase is used with too little understanding both by those who wield it for defense and those who hurl it in attack. It is true that the South has a “way of life,” but the point that is missed is that a “way of life” is a normal social phenomenon. “Way of life” is in fact our everyday translation of the old term, “regime.” And “regime” is a word rich in social meaning.

Modern social scientists have a way of finding or coining words which only obscure their discussions. They could communicate better if they dropped a good deal f their special jargon, but now and then they bring forward a term which is really serviceable. One of the most interesting of these is anomie. This word comes from two roots which combine to mean “an absence or privation of custom and order.” Interpreted more fully, it signifies a condition of society in which the guide lines of belief and behavior have largely disappeared, so that frustration and chaos reach dangerous levels. A society suffering from anomie is in a state of disorganization, from the lack of whatever has previously given it the power to unify and cohere.

RW

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Richard M. Weaver

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In the national controversy raging over segregated schooling, we often hear of “the Southern way of life.” I suggest that this phrase is used with too little understanding both by those who wield it for defense and those who hurl it in attack. It is true that the South has a “way of life,” but the point that is missed is that a “way of life” is a normal social phenomenon. “Way of life” is in fact our everyday translation of the old term, “regime.” And “regime” is a word rich in social meaning.

Modern social scientists have a way of finding or coining words which only obscure their discussions. They could communicate better if they dropped a good deal f their special jargon, but now and then they bring forward a term which is really serviceable. One of the most interesting of these is anomie. This word comes from two roots which combine to mean “an absence or privation of custom and order.” Interpreted more fully, it signifies a condition of society in which the guide lines of belief and behavior have largely disappeared, so that frustration and chaos reach dangerous levels. A society suffering from anomie is in a state of disorganization, from the lack of whatever has previously given it the power to unify and cohere.