The Gift of Small Rebellions

by Keo Cavalcanti March 24, 2013 Every time I read W. H. Auden’s “The Unknown Citizen poem I am reminded of the unenviable task that befalls us sociologists. We are a funny bunch ¦ We spend a lot of time looking for stable and predictable patterns of behavior in society. We do so by comparing certain groups to other groups, by identifying what members of each group share in common, and how those characteristics influence the way they act and live. The main character in Auden’s poem is entirely predictable, as a citizen of that particular society, living at that particular time. These days the art of survey research has reached such a level of sophistication, that knowing someone’s level of education, income or occupation, or that person’s gender, age, race or ethnicity, or even her zip code allows us to predict, with a great degree of certainty, not only how she is going to vote, but her attitudes toward a good number of social issues and even her taste in shopping, restaurants and magazines.

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