Social Indicators and the Mondale Initiative

Abstract

The legislative highpoint of the social indicators movement in the United States was marked by U.S. Senator Walter F. Mondale's persistent attempts over the period of 1967 to 1973 to enact proposals for the establishment of a Council of Social Advisers and the development of a national system of social reporting. Mondale argued that, by providing an independent accounting of the social state of the nation, a system of social indicators would greatly improve congressional scrutiny in the field of social policy, much as economic indicators were believed to do in the field of economic policy. This bold effort to build a constituency of the future around social scientists is now largely forgotten, but its history illuminates the uneasy relationship between social science and government. This article presents a detailed account of the Mondale Initiative and draws out some lessons still relevant today.