Ethical Individualism and Moral Collectivism in America

From Alexis de Tocqueville to Robert Bellah and Alan Wolfe, the many observers of the United States invariably call attention to its emphasis on individualism. In the popular culture of American television and movies, the autonomous individual stands out, whether as rebel against the system or as self-centered consumer of endless products, services, and other people. Then there are the advertisements that tell us how important we are as individuals, “you are worth it.” Over against these seemingly positive images are those of individuals worried about their personal relationships —lonely, depressed, and forlorn. But everywhere we find individuals thinking about and acting for themselves. The way ethics is taught in the public schools in the United States does little to dispel this idea that individualism is the hallmark of American culture. James Davison Hunter’s recent study of moral education confirms this.1 He identifies three approaches to moral education in American public schools: neo-classical, communitarian, and psychological. The neo-classical position is similar to that of natural law theories in earlier centuries. It maintains the existence of universal moral values or virtues, whether that universality as ascertained by reason derives from nature or history. The communitarian approach emphasizes the consensus in the community about what is