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The foreign commentator does not always view America as a student bent on understanding the country & the American people on their own terms & for their own sake. 'More often, in fact, the perspective is one of partisanship with regard to issues in the commentator's own country or beliefs in his personal philosophy; in some cases his interpretation of America is but a convenient language in which extraneous views & prejudices can be expressed with impunity.' Themes in the writings of A. de Tocqueville, J. Bryce & M. Weber are explored. De Tocqueville eloquently pleaded in favor of the decentralization he saw in America, while not anticipating the growth of the nation into a great military power. His criticism of candidates for public offices was concerned mainly with the technical efficiency & intellectual standard inherent in US administrative practices, rather than problems of political ethics, & his principal criticism of 'the tyranny of the majority' is discussed. Bryce, like Tocqueville, decried that the best talent does not enter the field of public affairs & 'in consequence government in all its branches is below the level to be expected in a nation like the US.' Bryce points to 2 defects of US democracy that received little or no attention from Tocqueville: the corrupt & unethical party-politics practices, also prevalent in city gov'ts; & the formidable power of wealth in America. Unlike Tocqueville, Bryce did not consider a `tyranny of the majority' a danger inherent in US democracy. 'The relative freedom from the bureaucratically formalized type of administration was, to Weber, one of the most valuable aspects of US democracy.' He clearly foresaw the ascent of the US as a world power, & long viewed the US & Russia as the two great centers of gravitation in the modern world. Presented is a brief report of a direct interview survey among leaders from Europe, Asia, & Africa, bringing out 4 grand themes in their images of US: world power, bigness & wealth, technology, & big heart. 'In the political image there was, for instance, 'young & forceful nation' as well as 'young & inexperienced nation', democracy as well as `race relations impair democracy', & 'the civil liberties issue endangers democracy'.' Econ'ly, there were themes like 'opportunity' as well as `insecurity', 'maldistribution', & 'small-group rule (Wall Street)'. In the social & cultural image there was stress on such themes as 'technical skill & efficiency', 'well-integrated multinational society', 'materialism', 'competitiveness', 'success orientation', 'hard work', & 'violence'. In the image of Americans as human beings the main theme was 'friendliness & openness in HR's with such collateral themes as 'strong', 'youthful', 'juvenile', 'skillful', 'active', & 'insensitive to nontechnologicai cultural values'. (See also SA 2685 2734, 2735, 2738, 2739, 2740, 2742, 2744, 2745, 2746, 2748) P. Widem.

I / Pure Theory -- The Social World and the Theory of Social Action -- The Dimensions of The Social World -- The Problem of Rationality in the Social World -- II / Applied Theory -- The Stranger: An Essay in Social Psychology -- The Homecomer -- The Well-Informed Citizen: An Essay on the Social Distribution of Knowledge -- Don Quixote and the Problem of Reality -- Making Music Together: A Study in Social Relationship -- Mozart and the Philosophers -- Santayana on Society and Government -- Equality and the Meaning Structure of the Social World -- Some Equivocations in the Notion of Responsibility -- Tiresias, or Our Knowledge of Future Events.

I Reine Theorie -- Die soziale Welt und die Theorie der sozialen Handlung -- Das Problem der Rationalität in der sozialen Welt -- II Angewandte Theorie -- Der Fremde -- Der Heimkehrer -- Der Gut Informierte Bürger -- Don Quixote und das Problem der Realität -- Gemeinsam Musizieren -- Mozart und die Philosophen -- Santayana über Gesellschaft und Regierung -- Die Gleichheit und die Sinnstruktur der sozialen Welt -- Einige ÄQuivokationen im Begriff der Verantwortlichkeit -- Tiresias oder unser Wissen von Zukünftigen Ereignissen -- Personenregister.