This paper identifies and analyzes some of the arguments employed by those who feel that "we have done enough" for the less fortunate members of society, who wish to curtail or end Federal involvement in social change, and who have lost sight of the dual goals of individualism and equality of opportunity. These arguments fall roughly into three categories--biological, social, and political--and can be summarized as follows: (1) certain races are genetically inferior; (2) poverty is due to the improvidence or sloth of the poor; and (3) governmental institutions (especially education) are not effective in implementing positive change in individual circumstances. This paper calls attention to the facts that the debate is a very old one and that the critical choice is not between one set of scholarly arguments and another; it is a choice of values and ideals. Social science research is a valuable and necessary tool or map but not a determiner of our destination. Citizens individually and collectively, not just social scientists, must examine their values and their ideals and on that basis determine which way America is to move. (Author/JH)