論工業社會及其未來-56

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Furthermore, change in American frontier society was very rapid and deep. A man might be born and raised in a log cabin, outside the reach of law and order and fed largely on wild meat; and by the time he arrived at old age he might be working at a regular job and living in an ordered community with effective law enforcement. This was a deeper change than that which typically occurs in the life of a modern individual, yet it does not seem to have led to psychological problems. In fact, 19th century American society had an optimistic and self-confident tone, quite unlike that of today’s society. [8]

[8] Yes, we know that 19th century America had its problems, and serious ones, but for the sake of brevity we have to express ourselves in simplified terms.

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此外，美洲邊疆社會的改變非常迅速且深遠。一個人可能在木屋出生和成長，在法律和命令管轄範圍之外且靠著野生動物的肉維生；而在年長時他可能有一份穩定的工作並住在一個有強力執法機關、有秩序的社區。這比起典型現代人生命中發生的變化還更深遠，然而這似乎沒有導致心理問題。事實上，十九世紀的美洲社會有樂觀和自信的基調，和現今的社會大不相同。[8]

[8] 確實，我們知道十九世紀的美洲有其問題，而且是嚴重的問題，但為求簡潔我們用簡單的說法表達。