The author attributes three features of modern Western culture -- chosen dominant values, the rate and complexity of change, and the lack of a shared vision of society and its future -- to individuals' isolation from each other and from society at large. These flaws mean that children, who are in the process of establishing their identities and values, lack a social and spiritual context to help them find their place in the world. Western society is failing to meet the basic requirements of culture, which including giving people a sense of meaning and self- identity, a measure of confidence about what the future holds for them, and a framework of moral values to guide their actions. While most children and adolescents seems happy and intent on enjoying their lives, as a generation they display a cynicism, impatience, and social passivity that reveal their apprehension and concerns. The author links risk factors, including multiple drug use, truancy, adolescent pregnancy, and juvenile delinquency, to the consequences of the fundamental cultural framework of Western civilization. Society will have to set broad long-term goals for itself, not only in terms of economic, social, or environmental objectives, but also goals that define the totality of how people are to live. 28 references