Habits of the heart: American individualism and social commitment

Individualism vs. collectivism: Habits of the Heart

Today, America is at a crossroads. Americans must ask themselves the question: do we as a society attempt to use government intervention to create a more equitable America, or do we trust the capitalist system to improve individual American's lives? Is more government, wisely used, or less government, the answer? According to the 1996 collection of essays entitled Habits of the Heart, instead of condemning government, we should use it in a more ethical and proactive manner. America, looking for a moral underpinning to its evolving sense of itself has too often focused upon individualism. Over the course of the book Robert Bellah and other contributors compare how two distinct ideological strains have existed in American: first, there is the collectivist impulse of charity and the sense of responsibility to the community that underlines America's beginnings as a religious nation. Second, there exits the individualistic, capitalistic impulse -- and the ethos of the frontier.

Habits of the Heart proposes that the old ideology of the Gospel of Wealth must be abandoned. Bellah appeals to a social tradition of collective action, as manifested in early Progressivism and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s activism. Biblical teachings and civic republicanism are cited as the two, uniting features of the American communitarian ideological tradition and are perhaps best embodied in King's unique form of leadership. Americans must once again be reminded of their responsibility to others as well as to themselves and to their families. This stands in stark contrast to the Protestant work ethic which sees labor as a way of proving one's merit and fitness for heaven, as well as the capitalist ideal that views financial success one's moral fitness to live in society. "Economic self-reliance is often seen as the bedrock on which the more general character rests" in America (Bellah et al. 56).

According to the authors, in America today, religion has shifted once again to a psychological, individualistic mode and the fear of government intervention (most notably manifested during the current healthcare debate) seems to have grown, rather than retracted in our society, despite electing a president promising change. Bellah sees this as dangerous and particularly dangerous is the faith of 'Shelia-ism,' the idea that a society can survive so long as everyone has his or her own personal moral code. Social commitment is portrayed as the lifeblood of society, yet all too often the pressures to 'make it' in America mean that people must take time away from volunteerism and spend more time at work. Despite high levels of church attendance, individual responsibilities and intimate relationships define American's sense of identity (Bellah et al. 250). The self is orchestrated as a personal, rather than a social matter.