Discusses the controversy surrounding amniocentesis (used to detect and abort mongoloid fetuses) as an example of the ethical and social assessments that must be made with new scientific and medical developments. (JR)

Describes a classification system based on interpersonal and economic resources which provides insight into the social problems of modern culture. Concreteness versus symbolism and particularism versus universalism are the coordinate pairs into which six categories of resources--love, services, goals, money, information, and status--are plotted.…