17

Social Bases

of

Political

Commitment:

Study of Liberals and Radicals

WILLIAM KORNHAUSER
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY

The

social act as seen

by symbolic

interactionists

is

a contimioiis

process of defining the situation, ivith each definition evolving,

in large part, out of antecedent definitions. In effect, the act

beco7nes a continuous series of contingencies. Once a choice has

been made, there viay be a covnnitnient to it which will determine

most of the

steps

i?i

hering to

it

among

Professor Korncommitment and ad-

a future course of action.

hai4ser here analyzes the process of forniing a

and
between the

political liberals

dafferences a^e pointed out

radicals.

radical

Although
and liberal

real
self-

commitments, attention shoidd be drawn to the even greater conwith the industrial workers' lack of covnnitment to work, as
portrayed by Dubin in Chapter 13. For the radical, ''''work'" is
politics, and it is clearly his ''central life interest."

trast

To

incur a

commitment

is

to

for alternative lines of action.

merely voicing

become more or less unavailable

Commitment entails more than

a choice, although a pledge or

52/

promise certainly

is

The

Individual and Social Organization

way

of becoming committed.

a simple

The

additional element

commitment is the "force of circumstances" to which one becomes exposed by virtue of pursuing a course of action. A commitment consists in the various relations which are formed in

in

the process of acting in a certain direction, so that to shift the

line of action requires

The

relations

changing these

formed

in

relations.

goal

the course of striving for a

possess certain general characteristics.

They include much more

than was bargained for in the

decision to seek the goal.

The

initial

unanticipated relations result from the nature of the effort

(or means) required

dividual

who would

by

They

the goal.

continue to seek the goal.

ments are requirevients for seeking

One

on the inHence, commit-

are binding

a goal (cf.

kind of circumstance surrounding any

3,

pp. 225-259).

sustained effort to

achieve a goal consists in other relations and goals.

tain course of political action

may

Thus

a cer-

enforce a wide range of non-

The interdependence
many of the attributes

political relations.

of spheres of actioji

responsible for

of commitment.

circumstance creates tension and resistance,

as

is

This

commitments gen-

erated in the course of seeking one goal clash with requirements

of other goals.

The

individual faces the problem of integrating

the various relations which

command

his allegiance.

To

say that

an individual seeks conflicting goals usually means that he cannot fulfill both sets of commitments engendered by them. Therefore, the strength of a co?mnitment can be measured by the

number of social spheres for which it enforces lines of actio??.

The idea of commitment, then, implies more than choice, and
also more than what we initially believe to be our obligations as

We

may

committed and yet not be

committed; and we may be committed without full cognizance
of that fact. Appreciation of what is comprised in a commitment
a result of the choice.

may come

only

when we

feel

try to break

it;

then the consequences

of our involvement are revealed to us, often for the first time.
In order to explore the social bases of commitment,

we

studied

a group of people whose goals engendered high commitment,

and compared them \\ ith people whose goals summoned only
limited commitment. We also studied people who broke off
each kind of commitment. We selected radical political goals
as ones which produce strong commitment, and liberal political

S22

Social Bases of Political Covmtitment

which invite only moderate commitment. Our

sample was composed of leaders of radical political groups in
Chicago, namely, Communist and Trotskyist organizations, and
goals as ones

of the major liberal political organization in Chicago, the Independent Voters of Illinois (affiliated with Americans for Democratic Action).
found people who had terminated their
commitments by asking these leaders for the names of persons
they knew who had quit the organization after having held
similar positions. Since we sought intensive interviews covering a wide range of topics, we had to impose severe limits on the

We

number

We

of people studied.

secured

case

histories

who

quit these

gether.

We

organizations and

also secured the

these 60 cases first treats the political

political

20

revolutionary politics alto-

same number

of cases of present

Our

analysis of

commitment of

the radical,

and former leaders of the liberal organization.

and then the

of

and of 10

presently active local leaders of radical organizations,

commitment of

the liberal.

Social Bases of a Radical

Commitment

Radicals stand apart from society, living their lives primarily

must be of unsurpassable importance for

them to give of themselves thus. By the same token, the political
future must hold great promise of success. High expectations
on both counts are necessary for the radical's commitment. This

as "outsiders."

Politics

confidence in the future clashes with the poverty of radical

achievements in present-day America. Faced with innumerable
disconfirming events on

all

sides,

the radical party in

continuously must contend with what

it is

America

\\'ont to call "defeatist

tendencies."

radical leader noted that,

among new recruits, political

by radical standards:

ex-

pectations often are excessive, even

One

of the toughest problems

hopes

new comrades

we

[leaders]

bring into the party.

the revolution to be right around the corner.

come, they get discouraged and

movement.
not in

when

We

sight.

may

is

the great

are expecting

When

it

doesn't

leave the revolutionary

have to teach them that immediate victory is

Revolutions are only made

That's tough to do.

the obiective conditions are ripe.

tionary

face

They

knows

this

and

is

braced for defeats,

32s

professional revolu-

The

Individual and Social Organization

from his party was able

between high expectations and low achievebegan to experience it:

radical in the process of breaking

to reveal the strain

ments

he

as

first

The more

optimistic

among us expected revolutionary condiThe party would never admit this,

tions to follow the war.

but

when

you're in the revolutionary movement, you

to think the revolution

you have

least,

lifetime!

unless

is

coming

in five

or ten years.

to believe that the revolution

You have

you have

to think that!

You

is

have

Or, at

coming in your
up the pace

can't keep

that hope.

Radicals, then, face the

continuous problem of maintaining

high expectations in the face of disconfirming events. Resolution

made simply by lowering expectations,

demands for change are of such scope and

of the problem cannot be

since revolutionary

weight

to require sustained

as

aspects of

life,

and

this in

effort at the

expense of other

turn requires overriding belief in the

promise of political success. Instead, adaptation to the wide gap

between expectations and achievements tends to be made by eiJforced isolation from people who do not hold revolutionary
goals.

Our

case histories

show

that persons currently holding revolu-

tionary goals are isolated from the community, whereas persons

who

have terminated their

groups are not isolated.

do not have close ties with persons
who are not radicals, nor do they seek a professional career outside the political movement.
Revolutionary groups seek to place their members in jobs
where they can make a political contribution. For example,
ties to radical

Specifically, radicals generally

members frequently

are instructed

by party

leaders to take a job

in a plant to help organize or penetrate a trade union.

core of the party consists of members on the party

who

staff

The hard
or

mem-

through which they can be politically effective. One radical followed this party expectation in
the selection of work for several years, but then he took a job
with no political potential:

bers

are

working

in jobs

do any union work where I am now. It's too small a

could go into a bigger shop, but I don't want to. I'm
glad to have a breather for awhile. There is nothing stirring

can't

shop.

324

Social Bases of Political Covnnitment

nowadays. I figure it's better for the party [sic] as well as for
me to do some other things during this quiet period. I want
to do some writing and reading, work on my inventions, see
new friends.
My job gives me a chance to get some more
.

money.

Although

it

is

of course possible to disengage oneself from

work

relevant

politically

for short

divorcing oneself from radical

of time without
once the individual begins

periods

politics,

to satisfy non-political gratifications in his

difficult

work

it \\'\\\

be more

for him to give them up for political action. In this case,

the respondent's private interests in writing, reading, working on

inventions, seeing friends, and

ment away from

making money portend

radical politics.

As

quit radical politics a year or so after

The

who

radical

side the radical

is

we

move-

interviewed him.

first

effectively insulated

movement does not

a matter of fact, this person

from

influences out-

attach an important value to

work over and above its political significance. He does not

change jobs simply to gain more money, nor does he expend
major energies to gain promotions and to advance a career.
his

Where

the party deThis means that a

the radical's job has political potential,

mands

that he use

union

official,

it

to advance

its

interests.

for example, must be prepared to

sacrifice

his

movement if party leaders decide that this is

the course required by the political needs of the party. The
harshness of this commitment is indicated by the frequency with
career in the labor

which union

Where

leaders have

a job

broken with

radical groups.

does not have political potential, the committed

which consumes the minimum amount of

him with the most freedom to engage in political
work. The radital commitment involves the full use of "spare

radical will seek a job

time, leaving

time" for political purposes.^

A radical discussed the problem in these terms:

I

would take

a university
I

would do

in

business

right; at least,

self

working

that

get a job with the

it

job

if

the

circumstances seemed

for a short time.

much

longer.

most freedom

The
to

do

can't see

my-

crucial

thing

hat

want

\\

is

Almond's study based on interviews with former Communists reports

on this point (1, pp. 147-151).

findings similar to ours

The

Individual and Social Organization

working for the party.

work

can use your

status to

By

For

fulfillment enough.

is

be

there

skills

party

staff

well-educated Marxist, party

You can

get your prestige and

the party].

[in

member. That's

It

my

you

has tremendous

ultimate aim.

virtue of his political goal, the radical activist

is

required

His political relations enforce

this commitment, for example, by not leaving him time to develop new interests. Party members are so busy with party activities that they are effectively insulated from outside influence.
A second major indication of the enforced isolation of the
radical is his lack of personal ties to people who are not also
radicals. None of the radicals we interviewed had close friends
and members of his immediate family who did not also belong
to the same political group. The radical's lack of personal ties
to reject the pursuit of a career.

outside his political group

is

not a matter of

his

choice alone.

His political associates enforce it. The tendency for the community to ostracize the radical for his politics also plays a role
in isolating the individual, as the following account of one individual's experiences shows:
I was dead wrong in my
community, and did everything they could think of to cut me off and ruin me. Now
they think I'm just eccentric
I have faced
it's gone that far!
the whole range of intimidations. But I haven't curtailed my
actions. Once you are in, there is no going back, even if you
wanted to.

Former

friends and associates thought

politics, that I

was

a threat to the

The

radical will seek to terminate personal ties

party, not merely because he

is

because he feels uneasy with people

mission in

life.

When

outside the

constrained to do so, but also

who do

not share

his central

asked to describe his closest friends, a

radical replied:

When

many years, as I have been, you

with your comrades. I have had a few
friends outside the party, but they can never be as close friends.
They can't be friends at all if they are hostile to the party. You
never feel as comfortable with an outsider as you do with your
comrades. But each of us has to work out these personal problems as best he can, always keeping in mind that personal considerations must be changed to fit the needs of the party.
you

develop

are in the party for

warm bonds

^26

Social Bases of Political Coimnitment

In order to continue actively seeking radical goals, the individ-

up personal
must develop new personal

ual needs to give

ties

outside the radical group; he also

relations within the radical group.

Unless he terminates outside relations, the individual will be ex-

posed to conflicting demands. Unless he forges new ties within

the group, the individual will be exposed to disillusionment and
discouragement. When the radical must maintain his political
allegiance in order to maintain his personal relations and social
status,

then he will be

allegiance.

Too many

ready to entertain doubts about that

non-political relations are at stake to judge
less

the political relationship in purely political terms. If the political

relationship does not find support in non-political attachments,

then

it

can readily be disrupted by disconfirming events in the

political

world.

Festinger and his colleagues have

shown how

a small sect in

Chicago was able to sustain itself in spite of the fact that

expectation
that the world would come to an end on

tain date

was

not

fulfilled

sect did not disintegrate

participants

One

(2).

when

its

were bound together

of the reasons

prophecy

failed

was

its

key

a cer-

why

the

that the

in close personal relations

and

provided strong support for one another in the face of failure.

So, too, with our radical groups: their prophecies have by and
large also failed; yet they frequently have maintained their co-

hesion because they have not formed merely a special-purpose

association of like-minded people but a closed society in
a variety of needs are fulfilled.

merely to terminate
rupture of

One

all

To

leave such a

political relationship:

it

group

also

which
is

not

entails

the

kinds of non-political relations.

of our respondents

who

is

a leading radical illustrates to

what extent a political relationship may come to involve a total

commitment. He joined a radical party when he was a young
man. A short time later he was appointed to the staff of the
party. At this point, he changed his name at the direction of the
party. Shortly thereafter, he married a girl who also worked
on the party staff. Now his name, his job, and his wife were all
acting to support his political goals. During this period he terminated all personal relations with people who were not also in the
party, and built up a completely new circle of friends. He also
gave up any aspirations for a career outside the party.
527

The
At

Individual ajid Social Organization

the same time, the radical's pohticalization of his personal

relations tends to attenuate them.

by

restricted

become

Non-political relations

This

incorporation into the political relation.

especially true of personal relations, for this kind of social

involves mutual trust and spontaneity, something

be given fully and

easily

where

which cannot

political tests are

Thus

is

bond

always being

movement comes before personal relations, which means that those

who leave the movement cut themselves off from all personal as
applied (cf.

1,

pp. 118-125).

radicals insist that the

well as political consideration.

The
vealed

social bases of the radical

by

who

persons

commitment

are further re-

the kinds of orientations and relations that characterize

defect from radical groups.

tion involves the loss of political hope,

The

process of defec-

rather than an

initial

change in political values or in the assessment of the group's

adherence to these values, and the growth in concern for personal
interests, which are felt to be threatened by the radical commitment. Corresponding to this change in orientation, defection is
associated with certain changes in personal relations: the loss of
personal relations with political associates, which signifies the
failure to fulfill the radical commitment, and the development
of close

ties to

who

persons

also violates the radical

are not political associates,

commitment.

We

shall

which

consider

first

who have quit radical politics,

and then changes in personal relations.
One of our respondents expressed his changing political orientachanges in orientation by persons

tion in these terms:

The

party's isolation

made me

feel that there

was no point

in

being a Communist and sacrificing my whole life. The party

was through, and I didn't feel like sticking around as a caretaker,

We

even though

may view

still

believe the party

the sense of increasing

is

right.

hopelessness

radical party as a rationalization for the desire to

into the mainstream of society; or

return to the
life

community

results

together,

indistinguishable

political expectations

is

may

be that the desire to

from the judgment

appears increasingly pointless.

grow

it

In

all

of the

jump back
that political

probability,

from one another.

the

Loss

two
of

closely associated with a shift in orienta-

S28

Social Bases of Political

tion

away from

pens, as

Commiwient

the group and toward the

When

self.

did in the following case of a person

it

who

this
left

hapthe

Communist part}% the individual sees himself caught between a

political commitment and the satisfaction of personal interests.
I still

hold to the same position of Marxism.

came

It

first.

just

wasn't worth the sacrifices to stay

decided that
in.

Nothing

can be done now, anyway. Yes, I've changed a lot in recent

years. I've always been an egotist. I finally decided I didn't
want to be a martyr. I want to get a good job, not too good,
but sufficient so that I don't worry about money. And lead

normal

for a change.

life

As doubts about the possibilities of political effectiveness grow,

concern over the impact of political relations on personal interests

grows apace.

When

work

I didn't want to be
want to be an outsider. I got to
of people there who would have thrown me over
if they knew. Not to mention the boss.
I've seen too many
lives wasted by those who have cut themselves off from every-

went

known as a
know a lot

to

radical.

at [a business firm],

didn't

They have made tremendous sacrifices

They have never made a decent living, they have
turned down good jobs, they have made their families suffer.
Brilliant people who could have made a real success of their
lives. Thrown away for a cause that can't ever be successful.
Socialism will never come in this world!
thing to be a radical.
to

Our

do

it.

interviews

show

over leaving radical

consistent pattern

politics.

One

of inner conflict

of our respondents

made

this

conflict very clear.

I'm not doing anything political these days.

I've lost contact

hard to be active along with a job and

family.
I'm getting older. I have two kids. You start thinking about putting something away for them. Against all these

most

for the

part.

It's

when you've been in the movement for years, you feel

duty to go on, you feel like hell when you don't. So what
do you do? W^hen things become quiet, you let your wife pull
you out. Maybe if things were really happening, then you
would choose the movement and let the family go.
things,
a

People leave radical politics

when they come

329

to define the

The

Individual and Social Organizatio7i

situation as a choice

between

hopeful personal

In order for the lines to be so drawn, the

personal

significant
failed to

life.

must have more or

individual

relations

hopeless political cause and a

less

have developed such relations

commitment tends

nation of a radical

from

fully divorced himself

within

the

group,

political

to occur

when

or

Termi-

in the first place.

several of

the individual's closest personal associates have decided to break

their radical

commitment. They may not make such

consciously as a group; they

fact

that

is

may

most of the ex-radicals

a decision

But the

not leave together.

we

interviewed reported that

they talked over the question of leaving with intimates in the

party, and that they left the party at about the same time.
It

would be an

ual quits a radical

oversimplification to conclude that the individ-

group when he decides to

sacrifice his political

relations in favor of his personal relations.

In the

place,

first

there must be a process of political disillusionment, usually born

of pessimism over the party's future.

In the second place,

it

too neat to suppose that the individual's personal relations

function to keep him in the political group or to pull him

from the

relations pull

dence

we

group.

political

him

in

both directions simultaneously.

have collected points to

away from

away

Generally, the individual's personal

a net balance

personal relations which pull the individual

politics

is

all

his political

commitment

who

(cf.

But consider the case of one of our respondents

The

on the
1,

quits

evi-

side of

radical

pp. 300-324).

who

quit radical

politics in spite of the influence of close friends:

party I wanted to keep. They were my

and I knew that it meant losing them [if I quit].
The party won't have anything to do with the fellow who
breaks. He's a renegade, finished, dead. Once you have been
in, you can't leave without this stigma.
I

had friends

in the

closest friends,

This respondent reports that when he quit, he made a strenuous

eflfort to keep in touch with a few of his closest friends. Belying
his own prediction, this effort met with some success, but only
because he remained ideologically sympathetic to the party.
Once outside the radical movement, former members frequently associate with one another, at least during the early
period of their alienation from radical politics. The tendency
330

Social Bases of Political Covimitment

for ex-radicals to seek one another out helps bridge the great
radical politics and the comthey are leaning on one another for support
their often painful return to the society from which they

distance

between the world of

munity. In
in

had

\\

effect,

ithdrawn.

As people who have terminated

their membership in a radical

group reintegrate themselves into society, they slowly give up
their radical ideas. Among our respondents there is no case of
a

dramatic shift to the opposite extreme,

as in the

much-celebrated

ex-Communists returning to the Catholic Church or

joining the political right. It might be expected that a certain
proportion of ex-radicals will overconform to the dominant political temper of the community in their anxiety to be accepted.
But among our respondents this type of response does not appear.
A final word about the consequences of defection for radicalism itself. Defection from a radical group has much more
serious consequences for radicalism as an organized movement
and as an ideology than does defection from a liberal group.
For when a radical drops out of a political organization, he cuts
himself off from radical influences and becomes more open to
influences which operate to change his ideas and values. But the
liberal, adhering to ideas and values closer to widely held views,
may sustain them without active membership in an organization.
The liberal rarely becomes isolated from the community in the
On the contrary, the libfirst place on account of his politics.
cases of

eral's

political action

generally heightens his

ties

to

the

com-

munity.

Social Bases of a Liberal

Commitment

Liberals lead only part of their lives as political men.

may

be judged to be very important, but

ically active

without great expectations.

liberals

Politics

Politics

can be

may

polit-

be hopeful,

but hberals can commit a part of their lives to the pursuit of

political goals without the conviction that success is imminent or
certain. They have not invested that much of themselves in
politics to feel basically threatened if political

demands

are not

realized.
If

the limited nature of liberal expectations and

demands

re-

The

Individual and Social Organization

duces the danger of

it

by

political disillusionment,

the same token

poses the problem of maintaining political interest.

between the

liberal's

The gap

expectations and achievements tends to be

so small as to provide

little

incentive for political action.

This

who must

suffer

is

the opposite of the problem facing the radical,

very great disparity between expectations and achievements.

liberal's weak political motivation is illustrated by one of our

The

who

respondents

quit liberal politics:

resigned from IVI

last year.

had too

rtiany other things to

where to put my time. And, frankly,

I was bored! The meetings became awfully boring, just terribly
dull. Instead of discussing issues, all the time was spent talking
about how to raise funds. I tried to stir up discussions on

An
time

do. It

was

issues,

but didn't get anywhere.

a question of

IVI leader observed that "with no major election for some

there is no transfer of interest somewhere, interest will
The modest goals of liberal groups fail to summon the

if

die."

intense energies available to radical groups.

Nor is a liberal ormany of its mem-

ganization prepared to use the full energies of

bers even

if

they were forthcoming.

There

is

relatively little

ivork to be done in a liberal organization, precisely because

goals are so limited.

Many

a liberal

its

group seeks to make work

its members, but this merely serves to underscore the problem rather than to solve it. In short, liberal goals invite only
moderate commitment to political activity.
At the same time, the liberal's commitments to non-political
goals tend to be strong and demanding. This applies especially
to his professional goals, and also to his family obligations.
Running throughout our interviews with liberals are statements
to the effect that "I can't put in so much time"; "IVI is taking
up too much of my time"; "I'm neglecting my work"; "My
family objects to my politics because I'm never home"; "Now

for

that the children are out of the

I

way

can give some more time to IVI";

back from

his vacation,

"When you
ical

then

[going to school],

"When my

maybe

partner comes

can go to IVI meetings again";

you can't maintain the same pace in politbecause

you
have so many more responsibilities."
action
get older,

332

Social Bases of Political Co7n?mt7iient

Respondents were asked what kinds of political action they

enjoyed and what kinds they disliked. In every interview with
liberals, a ready and definite reply was forthcoming, specifying

what was

what was

pleasurable and

distasteful.

Representative

liberal responses referred to personal gratifications derived

backstage maneuverings in deciding

office,

whom

the promotion of candidates, and the excitement of elec-

work

tion night, and to the tedium of such routine

Only two

ringing.

The

likes.

from

to endorse for public

others replied with such answers

thought about that."

necessary."

This

"It

is

"I

don't like

serious business."

[political action]

is

cult and serious matter.

just

not
I

"I

never really

One

it

is

all

radical said:

a pleasurable matter.

It is a diffiIt's

something that has to be done.

that of liberals
liberal

interest

as:

campaigning, but

don't enjoy any of the work.

Here is additional evidence that the

problem facing radicals is maintaining

The

as door-bell

radicals expressed such preferences or dis-

characteristic motivational
political expectations,

group cannot seek to generate or

among

and

sustaining political interest.

is

its

sustain political

participants in ways analogous to those em-

ployed by the radical group. Given its basic acceptance of the

political order, and its limited demands for change, the liberal
group can neither claim from its members nor use "the ^\hole
of their lives." Furthermore, the wholly political man is an antiliberal conception in and of itself. Liberalism implies pluralism
in interests and relations. Liberal groups are thus debarred from
seeking to absorb the whole of their members' lives, nor can they
seek to insulate their members from the larger society. Quite
the contrary.
its

liberal

group finds strength

in the nniltiple ties

viembers establish to the comimmity

Radicals are constrained to avoid deep involv^ement

in a career

outside of politics; liberals are valued for their successful busi-

Membership in a radical group is

an exclusive relationship; members of liberal groups characteristically have multiple group affiliations. Radicals arc required
ness or professional careers.

to

confine close personal relations to other

political

group;

liberals are

members of

the

expected to value a diversity of be-

333

The
liefs

among

between

Individual a7id Social Organization

commitment

These three major differences

their close associates.

liberals

and

radicals in the social bases of the political

will be considered in order.

Two-thirds of the liberals we interviewed occupy high professional and business positions. Two-thirds of the radicals hold
considerably lower occupational positions. This difference in occupational status is reinforced by the political commitment. We
have already shown that radicals are discouraged from placing
career interests ahead of political interests. In contrast, liberal
leaders are sought among the members of certain major law firms,
universities, and businesses in order to gain access to their skills,
contacts, money, and prestige. Much of the power of the liberal
group consists in the influence of individual members, rather than
in the power of organization. The strength of the liberal group
depends more on its selective recniinnent of leaders, whereas the
strength of the radical group depends more on its iyitensive
socialization of leaders.

All of the liberals

were

also

we

members of

studied

addition to their political

icals

who

have remained active in IVI

or reform groups in

at least three civic

affiliation.

maintained any organizational

In contrast, only

affiliations in

two

rad-

addition to their

in the political group. The groups to which liberals

belong have memberships which overlap one another and that of
the political group. A cross-tabulation of names appearing on the
letterheads of six major liberal organizations in Chicago shows
that a large number of persons appear on more than one letterhead. In fact, about one-half of the total list of names on six
letterheads are accounted for by about one-fourth of the people.
Half or more of the names on each letterhead also appear on one
or more of the other five letterheads. Furthermore, the most
active leaders of each group are more likely to appear on more
than one letterhead than are the less active persons. One of our
respondents analyzed this "community of liberal leaders" from

membership

his

own

experience:

My

work

in

housing led

Commission on

Human

me

into conferences of the Mayor's

Relations, because housing always leads

From

I
was invited on the board of
Union and the Chicago Council
Against Racial and Religious Discrimination. Then, I was

to race relations.

the

American

this,

Civil Liberties

354

Social Bases of Political

Commitment

leader, who asked me to serve on that

been on the board of the Chicago Council on

working with an IVI

board.

And

I've

Foreign Relations, Committee for the Nation's Health, Housing

Conference of Chicago, and probably a dozen more I don't
even remember. 07ice you get involved in one of these groups,
you meet people ivho are in other groups and they invite you to
join the boards of these other groups. They're all interlocking
What happens is you get to be something of
directorates.
.

name

you get

in these circles, so

invited to

all

comname will

these

mittees and boards, because each group figures your

appeal to certain other people.

Thus, where the radical commitment enforces isolation from the

community, the

The

liberal

commitment enforces

participation in

personal relations also testify to a broad

liberal's

it.

com-

munity involvement. Whereas all the radicals we studied had

most of their friends in the party, only one liberal did so. The
other liberals report that their friends were often very different
from them politically, that they "go across the board politically,"
that they run the "whole gamut of political views." These respondents refer to the diversity of poHtical views among their
friends with no regret. They would not have it any other way,
because "one does not want to appear to be choosing

on

his friends

and "differences of opinion make for a more

and "everyone has a right to his own political

a political basis,"

interesting life,"

views." Frequently, these liberals try to proselytize friends who

are not IVI members. But politics rarely is a condition of friendship.

By and

large, the liberal

commitment does not involve

shift in the locus of th^ personal ivorld.

At

the same time, those

loyalties

who

have persisted in their liberal

ties with other members of

have so?ne strong personal

ties typically were formed outside the political group

and carried over into politics. Or, if they were formed in political contexts, they subsequently were integrated with associations outside of politics. Thus members of a liberal group are

IVI. These

absorbed into the organization only to a limited extent. Even in

a liberal group, how^ever, some personal ties are needed to lend
stability to the pursuit of liberal political goals through organized
efforts.

liberal

This

is

indicated

by an examination of

group.

55J

those

who

left

the

The

hidividual and Social Organization

Those who quit IVI did not have close personal relations
within the group; nor did they belong to other civic or reform
relation,

Thus, there were few social supports for the

and few social obligations contingent upon it.

quently,

when

associations.

from

pressures

political

Conse-

professional or family roles in-

creased, the fragile political ties readily collapsed.

who quit liberal politics was

IVI for several years. At the
same time he was just breaking into a large law firm. Then he
received a sudden promotion in the firm, and shortly thereafter
began to cut down on his political action. When he mentioned
Representative of our respondents

man who had been very

how much

active in

time he used to put into

down!

Please don't write that

know

about

politics,

he quickly added:

would hate

to have

my

firm

this!

This person seized upon a minor disagreement with IVI

occasion to break off his commitment.

The

incident

as

an

would have

been quickly forgotten by this man unless he were looking for

an excuse to quit. After that incident, he stated:

Now

I'm through with

career

came

the outside.

enjoyed

get involved again.

which

In short, those

common

who

It's

quit

They

left

ties to

political
in

while

it

lasted,

IVI had two major

the larger

characteristics in

ties within
few
community of which IVI is

personal

IVI under the following conditions: certain

personal interests either conflicted with the political

simply were not being

satisfied

by

the political

affiliation,

affiliation.

several cases, disturbances in their political relations within

facilitated the

from

but I'm sure I'll never

have a busy and growing law practice
by being politically active.
it

prior to their withdrawal: (1)

IVI, and (2) few

a part.

couldn't risk

When I withdrew my
more comfortable looking

politics.

to an end.

withdrawal, but in

all

or
In

IVI

cases the decisive factor ap-

pears to be the pull of outside family and professional commitIn no case did a person arrive at a new ideological posiand leave the group on that basis. In several cases, there is
evidence that IVI may be rejoined sometime in the future.
Involvement in a liberal political group generally is an extejisioii of involvement in a wider community of professional, civic,

ments.
tion,

S36

Social Bases of Political Conrmitment

and personal relations. Rather than weakening ties to the community, liberal politics tends to strengthen multiple attachments

community. As a result of the integration of the liberal

group in the larger society, the individual who joins
a liberal group does not become dependent primarily on political
associates to satisfy primary-group needs. This difference from
the radical is only a matter of degree, however. Liberals who do
not find any gratifying personal relations in their political life
are also likely to withdraw from politics.
When the individual does drop out of a liberal group, his
to the

political

political beliefs generally

dividual

who

remain more stable than does the inThe liberal is closer to widely

quits a radical group.

held views and therefore can sustain liberal values even after he
gives

This

up membership and
is

do

tional support than

become
liberal

participation in a liberal organization.

to say that radical beliefs require

liberal

beliefs.

much more

organiza-

Radical groups tend to

from the community, whereas

closed societies, set apart

groups are open associations.

Conclusion

The radical suffers from a very wide disparity between what

he has learned to expect about ultimate political victory and
day-to-day political achievements. As a consequence, he
to doubts about the

worth of

sacrificing a life in the

is prey
community.

group seeks to counter these tendencies among its

members by separating them from the community and absorbing
them into the movement. The community cooperates by ostra-

The

radical

cizing those in

its

midst

who

are believed to be radicals.

is enforced by
munity, the individual avoids cross-pressures between

and non-political

Insofar

the political group and the

as this isolation

relations.

The

radical incurs

com-

his political

commitments

far

transcending his political obligations, especially pressures on him

to terminate involvement with

work

associates, family,

friends,

neighbors, etc., who are not also radicals. In addition, he incurs

commitments to fellow radicals which are not specific to the
political enterprise, often including obligations of a highly per-

sonal nature.

All of his relations support the political allegiance

by being jused with

the political role,

which dominates

the non-

The

Individual and Social Organization

This is the only way the radical can integrate his poand non-political roles, precisely because the radical movement is isolated from and at war with the larger society. For
under these conditions, a web of non-political involvements, by
political roles.
litical

requiring the individual to maintain his political allegiance in

order to sustain

his

personal relations,

is

major source of sup-

Movement away from radical politics is

same time movement back into the community. Persons

port for radical goals.

at the

in the process of breaking their ties to a radical group, as well

as those

who

have already defected, form multiple relations in

the community. Persons securely attached to radical groups, on

the other hand, have no such relations and therefore are not
readily vulnerable to threatened deprivations at the hands of the

community.

The

from too small a disparity between his

and achievements. The gap is so small that
it provides little incentive to engage in political action. The liberal is vulnerable to loss of political interest. Unlike the radical
group, the liberal group cannot seek to isolate its members from
competing interests and loyalties, because it is part of the community. It also cannot seek to absorb its members into the group,
since its goals and activities permit only the limited use of its
members' energies. Instead, the liberal group constrains the individual to form and sustain multiple involvements in the community. The sustenance of political interest is facilitated when
the liberal shares multiple ties with other members of his political
group
as colleagues, as friends, in voluntary associations. In
liberal

suffers

political expectations

this case, political

centering in the

are supported

ties

community

These independent mediating

ical goal
is

by

the only

way

people with

relations help to support the polit-

If

If

it.

Furthermore,

this

the liberal can integrate his political and non-

because the liberal group

he does not differentiate

political relations,

tween them.

non-political relations

stimulating political interest in

political relations just

community.

by

rather than in the political group.

he

is

more

is

part of the

his political

and non-

likely to face cross-pressures be-

he shares non-political concerns with some of the

whom

he also shares political concerns, but does not

confound them (as does the radical), he is

cross-pressures between them. Conflict may
338

less

arise

likely to face

from

increas-

Social Bases of Political Coiftmitment

ing involvement in one role which requires decreasing involvement in other roles. An element of stability in the allocation of

involvement among several roles is introduced by sharing different involvements with some of the savie people. For then the
expectations of each role include expectations that the other
roles will be performed.
But this is not to say that the liberal's non-political relations
are contingent on his fulfilling political obligations to the extent
that this

is

true for the radical.

commitment than do

much

less sacrifice

Liberal goals enforce

But then

radical goals.

much more

is,

the

more

Furthermore,

lib-

consistent with the culture of the

larger society, whereas radicalism

eral,

less

of personal interests outside of politics, and

therefore do not need such strong support.

eral values are

much

liberal goals entail

is

a deviant subculture.

distinctive the subculture, the

In gen-

more precarious

and therefore the greater the commitment

it

it

requires.

References
1.

Almond, Gabriel A. The Appeals of Communism. Princeton,

N.J.:

Princeton University Press, 1954.

2.

Festinger, Leon, et

al.

When

Prophecy

Fails.

Minneapolis: Uni-

versity of Minnesota Press, 1954.

3.

Selznick, Philip.

TVA

a?id

the Grass Roots.

University of California Press, 1949.

339

Berkeley, Calif.: