A government that maintains a deadly arsenal of nuclear weapons and talks casually about 'winnable' nuclear wars in which millions would be incinerated can no longer claim very plausibly to protect its citizens against foreign invasion. A government that preaches law and order but fails to guarantee public safety, to reduce the crime rate, or to address the underlying causes of crime can no longer expect citizens to internalize respect for the law. From top to bottom of our society, those who uphold law and morality find themselves unable to maintain order or to hold out the rewards formerly associated with observance of social rules. Even middle-class parents find it increasingly difficult to provide a secure environment for their offspring or to pass on the social and economic advantages of middle-class status. Teachers can no longer claim that education promises upward social mobility. In many schools, they find themselves hard pressed even to keep order in the classroom. Authorities can promise neither the security of inherited customs and social roles, the kind of security that used to prevail in preindustrial societies, nor the opportunities to improve one's social position, which has served as the secular religion of egalitarian societies. The fiction of equal opportunity -- the basis of what used to be called the American dream -- no longer has enough foundation in fact to support a social consensus. In a rapidly changing and unpredictable world, a world of downward mobility, social upheaval, and chronic economic, political, and military crisis, authorities no longer serve very effectively as models and guardians. Their commandments no longer carry conviction. The nuturant, protective, benevolent side of social and parental authority no longer tempers its punitive side. Under these conditions, nothing will be gained by preaching against hedonism and self-indulgence.
Christopher Lasch, “The Party of the Psyche”, The Minimal Self