Freedom’s Architecture: The Five Traits That Define Communitarian Individualism | What does American liberty look like in practice? In Part 2 of this series, explore the five civic habits that embodied American communitarian individualism—and why their erosion is a deeper crisis than we realize.
Truly grateful for the feedback - I've been waiting for something like the defense I never had to give on the aborted phd! Thanks for the time and thought you're putting in to help me sharpen my thinking. I recognize that many of these characteristics are heavily mythologized. Capitalism has rarely been constrained by the generosity of its greatest beneficiaries - and, yet, I think there is something in the culture that nudges the titans of industry to remember how easy reputations are gained and lost - alongside fortunes. CSR, for instance, is such a very strange invention. I witnessed its rise in my own career with befuddlement and also a sense that it was still very american. God forbid we tax capital gains, but entirely reasonable to hire armies of people to develop ways to "give back" and listen to "stakeholders." You kept me honest once before and hoping you do it again if needed. I'll admit a quixotic tendency to insist others adopt the definitions I insist upon, but in the case of ideology I hope you give me a chance to make the case it's really what we need right now - as counterintuitive as it appears right now. I think Americans have been suffering from a collective vertigo - we're completely adrift, confused and disorientied by how we arrived in this moment. We need a map. We need some real meaning and purpose. That's my diagnosis at least, thanks again!
Thanks so much for these kind words. I would love to hear more about your own work! Communitarian Individualism is among the most important features of the ideology I believe is real and needed now more than ever. Part of the problem is since Bowling Alone (which I was involved in) we thought the solution would be to reinvigorate civic life. And while that is essential, I've come to believe the reason it's so hard to reinvigorate is we've forgotten why it matters. We need to remind ourselves of its meaning and purpose - our shared ideology is the story we forgot to tell ourselves about who we are and that we are all tasked with this amazing project to make a more perfect union.
Not too much to disagree with here. Overall, it's very Thatcheresque. Citizenship carries duties as well as freedoms. Emphasis on the intermediate institutions of society. God and country and all that.
Communitarian individualism borders on being a "jumbo shrimp" style oxymoron, but I know what you mean. I applaud you for bringing the C-word back into the discourse, being a John Dewey fan.
Capitalism, be careful with that one. Alan Greenspan clarified that it's not Adam Smith as much as it is J.P. Morgan ... big business, big finance and big government collaborating. (Add in Ernest Orlando Lawrence's Big Science and you get our current system. Very much a hybrid of socialistic and libertarian notions.)
I'm pondering your basic thesis that we need ideology. Stacks of coherent ideas. Architecture.
Isms cause a lot of problems, most crucially they wreck or at minimum pick at the cohesion required for Tranquility, working against perfecting Union.
The reality of our moment is that we are not the Founders' country of mostly people from the same gene pool, place, religion, experience, language, ... The waves of immigration have imported entirely different idea stacks that, if anything, view the Founders' thoughts as toxic, as demonstrated by history (to them). You're not going to convince either the hard left Marxists or the hard right Fascistics, but maybe that's not your goal.
If you're addressing your pitch to us purples, dial down the faith part ... or at least emphasize keeping it out of the law.
Good stuff. I don't agree with everything you're writing, but it's well reasoned and written. Hope you get it published and get out on the men of letters circuit.
Just want to thank you for the project you have started. You are definitely speaking my language, as your concept of “Communitarian Individualism” is an idea that is very close to my own work, but I come at from a somewhat different perspective. I look forward to your future posts—keep up the inspiring work!
Truly grateful for the feedback - I've been waiting for something like the defense I never had to give on the aborted phd! Thanks for the time and thought you're putting in to help me sharpen my thinking. I recognize that many of these characteristics are heavily mythologized. Capitalism has rarely been constrained by the generosity of its greatest beneficiaries - and, yet, I think there is something in the culture that nudges the titans of industry to remember how easy reputations are gained and lost - alongside fortunes. CSR, for instance, is such a very strange invention. I witnessed its rise in my own career with befuddlement and also a sense that it was still very american. God forbid we tax capital gains, but entirely reasonable to hire armies of people to develop ways to "give back" and listen to "stakeholders." You kept me honest once before and hoping you do it again if needed. I'll admit a quixotic tendency to insist others adopt the definitions I insist upon, but in the case of ideology I hope you give me a chance to make the case it's really what we need right now - as counterintuitive as it appears right now. I think Americans have been suffering from a collective vertigo - we're completely adrift, confused and disorientied by how we arrived in this moment. We need a map. We need some real meaning and purpose. That's my diagnosis at least, thanks again!
Thanks so much for these kind words. I would love to hear more about your own work! Communitarian Individualism is among the most important features of the ideology I believe is real and needed now more than ever. Part of the problem is since Bowling Alone (which I was involved in) we thought the solution would be to reinvigorate civic life. And while that is essential, I've come to believe the reason it's so hard to reinvigorate is we've forgotten why it matters. We need to remind ourselves of its meaning and purpose - our shared ideology is the story we forgot to tell ourselves about who we are and that we are all tasked with this amazing project to make a more perfect union.
Not too much to disagree with here. Overall, it's very Thatcheresque. Citizenship carries duties as well as freedoms. Emphasis on the intermediate institutions of society. God and country and all that.
Communitarian individualism borders on being a "jumbo shrimp" style oxymoron, but I know what you mean. I applaud you for bringing the C-word back into the discourse, being a John Dewey fan.
Capitalism, be careful with that one. Alan Greenspan clarified that it's not Adam Smith as much as it is J.P. Morgan ... big business, big finance and big government collaborating. (Add in Ernest Orlando Lawrence's Big Science and you get our current system. Very much a hybrid of socialistic and libertarian notions.)
I'm pondering your basic thesis that we need ideology. Stacks of coherent ideas. Architecture.
Isms cause a lot of problems, most crucially they wreck or at minimum pick at the cohesion required for Tranquility, working against perfecting Union.
The reality of our moment is that we are not the Founders' country of mostly people from the same gene pool, place, religion, experience, language, ... The waves of immigration have imported entirely different idea stacks that, if anything, view the Founders' thoughts as toxic, as demonstrated by history (to them). You're not going to convince either the hard left Marxists or the hard right Fascistics, but maybe that's not your goal.
If you're addressing your pitch to us purples, dial down the faith part ... or at least emphasize keeping it out of the law.
Good stuff. I don't agree with everything you're writing, but it's well reasoned and written. Hope you get it published and get out on the men of letters circuit.
Hi Bryan,
Just want to thank you for the project you have started. You are definitely speaking my language, as your concept of “Communitarian Individualism” is an idea that is very close to my own work, but I come at from a somewhat different perspective. I look forward to your future posts—keep up the inspiring work!