TECHNOBUREAUCRACY AND CITY LIFE has become their primary concern and lending on mortgages is merely an outocome of it. The societies take advantage of the fact that none of the controlling bodies are too concerned about what the societies do with the investment funds they attract as long as they loan it on houses. It is up to the societies to decide on who the money will be lent to. The emphasis on « security of investment » is so strong that the Registry of Friendly Societies actually promotes merges (despite the fact that it is occurring « naturally ») on the grands that the bigger the society the more secure investments will be. The « movement » has two basic ideals. The first ideal is ensuring that investments are secure. In 1971 when confidence in the Derbyshire Building Society was temporarily undermined by speculation about the effects that the imminent collapse of Rolls Royce would have on the society's funds the other building societies actually made informal mutual aid arrangements to rescue the Derbyshire out of fear that its collapse would reflect badly on them. The second ideal is their confidence in the intrinsic value of home ownership. A report of the Temperance Permanent Building Society stated that: « We believe profundly in the ideal of a property-owning democracy, and it is our purpose to play our part in translating this ideal into a reality ... By being a house owner, he is ipso facto a responsible citizen» (44). Building Society organisation tends to reflect these ideals of thrift, home ownership and « personal freedom». Building Society staff tend to remain with one Society throughout their career and thus have a very traditional view of how a Society should operate. Change and adjustment to new circumstances takes place at a very slow rate and the principal factor on which managers are assessed is their ability to attract investmen. Whenever a request is made for an advance the society managers make an evaluation of the security provided by both the borrower and the property he/she wishes to purchase. « A borrower is evaluated in terms of his or her income, savings, membership of the Society to wich the application is being made, career prospects and income stability ... All of (44) WILLIAMS P.: op. cit., p. 31. 27
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