What is feared as failure in American society is, above all, aloneness. And aloneness is terrifying because it means that there is no one, no group, no approved cause to submit to. Even success often becomes impossible to bear when not socially approved or even known. This is perhaps why successful criminals often feel the need to confess, that is, to submit to the community' s judgment, represented in the person to whom the confession is made. They will confess even under circumstances where this will probably, if not certainly, endanger their previous success: proof I think, that aloneness is more intolerable than mere failure. For mere failure, provide it is found in company, can rather easily be borne; many ideologies have the function of making it possible for people to digest, the worst miseries and even death. Under the sway of the ideology, they do not feel the impact of their failure; they are in the grip of an authority, even if it lets them down. On the other hand, one who is alone lacks this solace which can make even failure comfortable.