We can therefore get some measure of the changing balance between individualism and communitarianism by examining (see Figure 5.9) the changing cultural balance between “rights” and “responsibility” in our national literature.67 Overall, “rights” is a more common word in American English than “responsibility,” but that edge has varied enormously over time. From the Gilded Age to about 1960 American writers put ever increasing stress on “responsibility” (as compared to “rights”)—not just civic responsibilities, of course, but also family responsibilities, religious responsibilities, and so
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