it is a fate which shapes the lives of many of us. We seem
to be caught in a frightening contradiction. In order to
assert ourselves as individuals, we relate only to those
phases of reality which seem to promote the attainment
of our objectives and we remain divorced from the rest
of it. But the further we drive this separation, the deeper
grows the rift within ourselves.

The "company wife" who, concerned about her hus-
band's career, chooses her friends more among the "right
people" than among those to whom she feels drawn; the
individuals who, for reasons of social prestige or in con-
sideration of professional or business interests, join the
church which gives a relatively high degree of respecta-
bility rather than the one which represents their religious
backgrounds and beliefs; the political leader who, realiz-
ing that his struggle for an unpopular cause might doom
his chances for re-election, abandons his convictions to
secure his political future; the painter who, committed to
creative but not generally accepted ideas, gives up the
struggle of the lonely artist and accepts the attractive fees
and the security of a job in an advertising agency -- all
these persons show how those who are estranged from
what is real can no longer be themselves.

The individual's alienation from everything which has
no bearing on the pursuit of his interests does not neces-
sarily enter into his consciousness; nor does he always be-
come aware of the estrangement from his own self or feel
it as a disquieting experience. As a result of his detach-
ment, the alienated man is often able to achieve great
successes. These, as long as they continue, engender a
certain numbness, which makes it hard for him to realize

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