The problem seemed to be that the more successfully and radically
social sci~nce changed your view of the world, the more
indifferent it became to the fate of those individual bodies. It was
not that social science did not help understand their fate. Quite
the contrary. Theory and research became .Illore and more sophisticated
and in the areas of social life which interested me
(crime, deviance, law, punishment) there were many sociological
descriptions and explanations which were interesting and perfectly
comprehensible. They made a difference to the way the world
looked. But, as William J ames said, 'a difference that makes no
difference is no difference'. I would deliver the same sort of message
implicit in this book (without the ponderous analysis or the
academic footnotes) to a group of social workers, and depart
knowing that although everything I had said was right, it made no
difference to my audience. Or else that it had made only the sort
of difference which my colleagues assured me should make me
proud: that these poor misguided social workers should now feel
demoralized and frustrated about their work, and start looking
for the 'real' issues (become sociologists?).