Raymond Williams: Individuals and Societies


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[Mrs. Ella Watson, a government charwoman, with three grandchildren and her adopted daughter]

Mrs. Ella Watson, a government charwoman, with three grandchildren and her adopted daughter (to right, reflected in mirror): photo by Gordon Parks, August 1942 (Gordon Parks Archives, Library of Congress)



To the member, society is his own community; the members of other communities may be beyond his recognition or sympathy.

To the servant, society is an establishment, in which he finds his place.

To the rebel, a particular society is a tyranny; the alternative for which he fights is a new and better society.

To the exile, society is beyond him, but may change.

To the vagrant, society is a name for other people, who are in his way or can be used.





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Beginning of the ball season, Berlin: photo by Carl Weinrother, 1934 (Deutsches Bundesarchiv)


Raymond Williams: Individuals and Societies (excerpt), from The Long Revolution, 1961