American Individualism Analysis

The Unites States was established as a result of a struggle between autonomy and autocracy, and from this fight for freedom emerged a new idea that became vital to the American identity- individualism. According to Robert Bellah, “Individualism lies at the very core of American culture”, and it is absolutely basic to the American identity. Americans value and preserve the individual, and condemn anything that would undermine or violate the rights of the individual. Even though, as Bellah points out, individuality is the foundation of our aspirations, it is also the root of some of our greatest difficulties as individuals and a society. Contrary to the classical ideas of individualism, modern individualism derives from the biological individual

Although the shift towards modern individualism has led to the rejection of certain customs that allowed for inequality under biblical and republican traditions, as Bellah claims, it has also unearthed the problems with modern individualism that had been ignored for years. Bellah prompts the questions, does the modern individualism in America allow self-contained individuals to sustain “…either a public or private life”? He suggests that if this is a problem with modern individualism, then maybe the only way to sustain sincere individuality while allowing a public and private life is through individualism that sees the individual in context with the community. As Bellah puts it, in American culture, “Modern individualism seems to be producing a way of life that is neither individually nor socially viable”. But Americans cannot abandon individuality, since it would be deserting our fundamental identity. Bellah therefore claims that it is society that is threatening the

The individual is able to do good deeds for the community, and in turn since the community is benefitted, and the individual is technically part of the community, the individual benefits from helping the community. However, as Bellah points out, the individual can never fully be part of society. According to Bellah, the individual “can only be valuable to society only because he is a completely autonomous individual who stands outside of it.” Even though the individual is important within the community, the individual cannot exist without the community. The community is made up of individuals who, by nature, join together in a collective group to achieve a common goal or to maximize benefits. Therefore, in a successful society, one cannot exist without the other. However I believe that the goals of the community should be slightly stressed more than the individuals. Every individual must give up some of their rights for the benefit of the community. As individuals who have our own talents and aspirations, we should use those things to achieve a collective goal as a group and maximize our reaping. Part of giving up some our rights as individuals is so that we can be protected by the community and the community can help us. In my opinion, I believe that the whole, or the community, is much greater than its single parts, or individuals. I would not be who