I & We: The case for the Responsive Community

Individualism has become so pervasive in modern society that it now undercuts the legitimacy of any collectivity or social institution. An emerging position challenges this individualism as excessive, offering in its stead a synthesis that recognizes the moral standing of both individual and community. This synthesis, the I & We (or Responsive Community), traces its origins to two opposing historical positions. The Tory (or conservative) position views society as an organic whole, the sole source of authority, legitimacy, and value. Whigs (or liberals), in contrast, invest all value and legitimacy in the individual. The I & We view maintains that individual and society presuppose and necessitate one another, and that the tension between them is not only inevitable, but in part desirable; and, that attempts to redefine and alleviate the strain between individual and community provide the basis for social change. A renewed understanding of community's importance to the individual leads to a critique of psychological Whigism — overemphasis on the feelings and needs of the self — and also suggests a new approach to devising public policy.