[Author’s Name]
[Institution’s Name]
Essay on Drift and Mastery
Drift and Mastery, originally published in 1914, is one of the most important and influential documents of the Progressive Movement, a valuable text for understanding the political thought of early twentieth-century America.
Walter Lippmann’s vision of a cooperative America in 1914 has withstood the test of time as a paradigm for retaining our humanity during industrialization. His emphasis on science, communication, labor organization, and the women’s movement has uncannily mirrored the intervening 90 years. Although a few of his sentiments and observations are outdated, the majority of his recommendations are still applicable to today’s society.
The title is the clearest indication of the timeless pertinence of this work. In all eras of change, drift has been of the utmost importance. In today’s world of exponentially progressing technology and corporate mechanization, we often feel helpless against the tides of nation-wide change. Mastery, then, is the ability to band together and set those changes on the course of prosperity without sacrificing our individuality.
Lippmann outlines the problems, solutions, and repercussions of mastery. Despite some aspects of the text being idealistic or anachronistic, much of what he predicted has come to pass. Although the average reader like myself may not be able to put Lippmanns ideas into direct action, his concepts still ought to help understand our responsibilities as citizens.
Few things would be easier than to caricature this book and make out that Walter Lippmann is an enemy of the democratic tradition. It is best to take Mr. Lippmann at his own evaluation. Lippmann's condemnation of the democratic process—peculiar conducts for a liberal democrat who is a friend of the democratic tradition. We shall not enter into the game of guessing Mr. Lippmann's motivations because we do not know him or them; because we are interested in his ideas, not his psyche; and because, therefore, his personal motivations are irrelevant to our inquiry......
