In The World Of The Celebrity, The

For We Cannot Adequately Understand 'man' As An Isolated Biological Creature, As A Bundle Of Reflexes Or A Set Of Instincts, As An 'intelligible Field' Or A System In And Of Itself. Whatever Else He May Be, Man Is A Social And An Historical Actor Who Must Be Understood, If At All, In Close And Intricate Interplay With Social And Historical Structures

To Accept Opinions Is To Gain The Good Solid Feeling Of Being Correct Without Having To Think.

As A Proportion Of The Labor Force, Fewer Individuals Manipulate Things, More Handle People And Symbols.

Fate Has To Do With Events In History That Are The Summary And Unintended Results Of Innumerable Decisions Of Innumerable Men.

Those In Authority Within Institutions And Social Structures Attempt To Justify Their Rule By Linking It, As If It Were A Necessary Consequence, With Moral Symbols, Sacred Emblems, Or Legal Formulae Which Are Widely Believed And Deeply Internalized. These Central Conceptions May Refer To A God Or Gods, The 'votes Of The Majority,' The 'will Of The People,' The 'aristocracy Of Talents Or Wealth,' To The 'divine Right Of Kings' Or To The Alleged Extraordinary Endowment Of The Person Of The Ruler Himself.