The nine chapters of this book examine the various perspectives of the societal dilemmas of crime, poverty, substance abuse, welfare, individual rights, and deinstitutionalization in an effort to identify some of the causes and thereby suggest possible solutions. Pathological childhood experiences emerge as a common factor in the origin of the problems of crime, poverty, substance abuse, and homelessness. To provide the appropriate solutions based on preventing the trauma, neglect, and abuse of children that give rise to the problems, the attitudes of society will need to change. This involves replacing permissiveness with a requirement that individuals be held accountable for their actions and the actions of their minor children, making judgments about what is good and bad, addressing rather than tolerating violence in homes, schools, and communities, enforcing discipline in schools and stopping rewards for failure, providing vocational training, and discouraging irresponsible persons from having children and requiring incapable parents to relinquish their children. 6 notes and 195 references