| Chapter Intro: | Introduction |
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Arnett described this attitude as an individualized view of community. According to Arnett (1986), the individualized view of “community becomes a lighted path leading back to oneself, not others” (pp. 36–37). An individual's interests dominate regardless of the needs of the community. In this historical moment, Arnett (1986) claimed, it is unusual for people to give up something for themselves in order to do something for others.
In Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life, authors Bellah, Madsen, Sullivan, Swidler, and Tipton (1996) explored the phenomenon of individualism and its effects on society, community, and the self. According to Bellah et al. (1996), de Tocqueville's fears have become a reality. Individualism has conquered most of the commitment people formerly maintained for community and society. “Individualism, the first language in which Americans tend to think about their lives, values independence and self-reliance above all else” (Bellah et al., 1996, p. viii). Although this may sound commendable, what is missing in the individualistic mindset is the reality that our lives are integrally intertwined with the lives of others. Individualism, when it becomes an extreme focus on the self, causes us to pursue our own interests without regard for anyone else. When there is a sole focus on the self, we withdraw from community and society and, as Buber pointed out, an existential mistrust emerges. Bellah et al. (1996) argued that in order to trust the society we belong to, we must have a stake in that society; we must care about and be actively involved in that community. With a focus on the self there is no care, concern, or trust for the communities in which we live. “American individualism resists more adult virtues, such as care and generativity, let alone wisdom, because the struggle for independence is all-consuming” (Bellah et. al., 1996, p. xi).
The individualistic self is left caring mostly about oneself in isolation. One does not and cannot understand how one is integrally connected to