Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 11.djvu/224

 208 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

Sociology, however, is something more than a descriptive and explanatory science. It does not limit itself to a study of the past and the present, of things as they are and have been, but asks of every " is " what it ought to be. It is constructive, it is teleo- logical, it is a science of social values. It recognizes the unity and organic nature of a city or nation, and frankly proposes the improvement of the collective life as its end. Municipal soci- ology, if I may use that expression, projects from the best dis- coverable elements in municipal life a civic ideal which serves as a criterion and standard of judgment. It proves all things, and holds fast to that which is good; the good being that, and that only, which enhances the municipal life. Its measure of the good and evil consequences of facts and conditions is always in terms of general civic well-being.

The sociological standpoint is, therefore, the standpoint of absolute impartiality with respect to the interests of a social group. It is the standpoint of the life of the people as a whole. From this standpoint all the elements of human well-being are duly regarded. From it we observe the actual or probable effects of a measure, not only upon the industrial, political, religious, or social interests of the municipality, but also upon its physical, moral, and intellectual life. From the standpoint of the political economist, for instance, that form of municipal government is best which best promotes the economic prosperity of the city; from the standpoint of the physician, that which best promotes the health of the people; but from the sociological standpoint, that form of government alone is best which best promotes the general welfare. The standpoint of sociology is, in a word, the standpoint from which we see all around the circle of human interests.

What, then, from this standpoint, is the civic problem ? The civic problem, as ordinarily understood, is, I suppose, the prob- lem of good government. Perhaps it might be stated in this form: Given the conditions of a municipality, what form of government is best applicable to it, and how may the adoption of that form be secured? But from the sociological standpoint the civic problem is something more than the problem of municipal