Could these problems have been prevented if our social institutions had been working well? I think so, but this is where political philosophies are important to understand. Some people believe that government should be very involved in providing services to people most at risk. I don’t know if the labels liberal and conservative have much meaning anymore, but in times past, we might have called these folks liberals. Liberals believe that where our usual institutions fail, the government and the private sector should help out. Conservatives believe that intruding in people’s lives often leads to a weakening of social institutions and the values that have served us well in the past. Conservatives might say that what we should be doing to reduce juvenile crime is to promote good family values and look to our traditional institutions (e.g., religious organizations and schools) to help prevent social problems from developing. They also believe that the more government has become involved in people’s lives in the past, the more serious our social problems have become. And finally, although this is true of liberals as well, conservatives believe in the concept of social capital: that “the good will, fellowship, sympathy, and social intercourse among the individuals and families who make up a social unit” (Hanifan, 1916, p. 130) will reduce social problems if used wisely. The tension between political philosophies is often the underlying reason why we respond to or neglect social prob- lems. This tension can be seen in the grass-roots organizations that often develop in the United States, such as the Tea Party movement and the radical groups of the 1960s, that seek to correct political problems through direct and sometimes aggressive social action.