The-Conquest-of-Happiness-by-Bertrand-Russell

Chapter 9: Fear of public opinion
Very few people can be happy unless on the whole
their way of life and their outlook on the world is
approved by those with whom they have social
relations, and more especially by those with whom
they live. It is a peculiarity of modern communities
that they are divided into sets which differ
profoundly in their morals and in their beliefs. This
state of affairs began with the Reformation, or
perhaps one should say with the Renaissance, and
has grown more pronounced ever since. There
were Protestants and Catholics, who differed not
only in theology but on many more practical
matters. There were aristocrats who permitted
various kinds of action that were not tolerated
among the bourgeoisie. Then there came to be
latitudinarians and free-thinkers who did not
recognise the duties of religious observance. In our
own day throughout the Continent of Europe there
is a profound division between socialists and
others, which covers not only politics but almost
every department of life. In English-speaking