wisdom, follies, triviality and grandeur—na universal phenomenon of prime magnitudenand overwhelming attractiveness.nMr. Fecher renders justice to such anconception of Mencken’s presence in thenAmerican culture. DnDevine’s WarningnDonald J. Devine: Does FreedomnWark? Liberty & Justice in America;nGreen Hill Publishers, Inc; Ottawa, Illinois,nRallying from Irving Kristol’s admonitionnthat the intellectual battle overncapitalism’s moral legitimacy will decidenits fate, Donald Devine has written anbook to defend the free market. In doingnso, he follows the likes of Dicey, Mises,nHayek, Simons and Friedman and oncenagain tries to fathom the intimate connectionnbetween political justice andneconomic justice.nWhat we learn is that the erosion ofnour liberty started when we strayed fromnAdam Smith’s premise of limited politicalnliberty. Where Smith confined politicalnjustice to the “protection against positivenacts of injury,” he left the problems ofnvirtue to the private sector. As modernnthought has enlarged the political notionnof justice to a concern for fairness andnequality, a giant welfare state has supplantednan area properly reserved for thenworkings of Smith’s social virtue.nThe author argues that the problemsnof welfare and social integration are morenjustly resolved through the free marketnsystem than through government programs.nWhere market solutions are notnenough for the “disadvantaged” tonachieve “true social justice,” ProfessornDevine pleads the necessity for a liberatednassociation sector so that the forces ofnorganized and individual altruism cannonce again provide virtue compatible withnAmerica’s political justice.nDevine’s ample use of supporting statisticalndata, at times, seems more hopefulnthan convincing. Fields which are immenselyncomplex and difficult to gauge,nsuch as religion, the family, materialism,nsocial values and public policy, aren20;nChronicles of Culturenexamined largely with the use of opinionnpolls, a sometimes deceiving method ofnmeasure.nYet, whether or not America’s supportnfor traditional family and moral valuesnis as strong as Devine contends, he correctlyncautions us that the continuingnlack of support from the intellectual classn(especially the media) for these valuesnmight undermine their standing with thengeneral populace. And it is here thatnDevine sees a grave danger which mustnbe averted by the capitalistic system innorder for it to survive. DnMorgan’s ChoicenTed Morgan (Sanche de Gramont):nOn Becoming American;nHoughton Mifflin; Boston.nUpon being addressed as Citoyen (citizen),nafter 1789, the Marquis de Lafay­nIn Focusnette shuddered, and the Marquis denMirabeau, of much shorter pedigree,nreached for his epee. Before he changednhis name to Ted Morgan, Count Sanchende Gramont claimed a genealogy whosenlength rivaled that of Lafayette. He didnnot care for it. He decided that being annAmerican meant more than roots. Henchanged his name and ap ilied fornAmerican citizenship.nFor centuries, the French aristocracy’sntwo claims to eminence were their sensenof cerebral pleasures and of elegance.nThese two human inclinations now takenrefuge in America, having fled Europenwhere wealthy youths kill randomly withnimpunity while claiming they’re defendingnthe simple folk who hate them, wherengrubbiness pretends to the status ofnantique, where Pall Mall and BoulevardnSt. Michel turn into progressive slums.nFrom his book, it is quite visible that Mr.nMorgan has a special feel for deep spiritualntransformations, and a full convictionnthat he made the proper one. DnBetween the Devil and the Deep Blue SeanMartin Anderson: Welfare: The PoliticalnEconomy of Welfare Reformnin the United States;nHoover Institution Press; Stanford, California.nby Richard A. VaughannDuring a briefing of reporters concerningnhis planned welfare reform package.nPresident Carter said, “the complexitynof the welfare system is almost incomprehensible.”nCarter’s expressed bafflement with annoverwhelming bureaucratic labyrinthnrevealed more than the mere complexitynof modern social policies. It was, innessence, an expression of frustration thatnthe President himself should be powerlessnMr. Vaughan, of the Rockford CollegenInstitute, is the Publishing Manager ofnthe Chronicles of Culture.nnnagainst a virtually autonomous and politicallynunaccountable welfare bureaucracy.nAnd it is within the context ofnthis frightening reality that the underlyingntheme of Welfare is set: “Thendomestic side of the federal governmentnhad gotten so big that it was literallynimpossible to grasp it, intellectually, innits entirety. The result is that you mustndepend on the bureaucracy that is therenwhen you arrive.”nAnd that is exactly what Carter wasnforced to do. Shrewdly manipulated bynHEW bureaucrats, Carter has been compellednto push for a welfare reform thatnwas his only in principle. The President’sninitial goal of no cost increase above thenpresent system was abandoned afternJoseph Califano’s warning of its politicalnimpossibility. And inevitably Carternauthorized Califano and Secretary ofnLabor Marshall to develop the welfarenproposals according to their own outlines:n