The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again

by Robert D. Putnam

Many American political thinkers have argued that these two values are inherently in competition with one another—pitting social solidarity, equality, shared interests, shared destiny, mutual obligations, and shared values against individual rights, diversity, freedom, “rugged” individualism, and live-and-let-live tolerance. A simplistic embrace of an I/we dualism implies a zero-sum trade-off between communitarian equality and individualistic freedom. While we acknowledge this timeless tension, we do not believe that we must choose one side or the other, or that all virtue lies at one pole. Furthermore, it is important to make clear that the I-we continuum is conceptually and empirically distinct from the more familiar left-right spectrum.30 Both individualists and communitarians can be found on both sides of the political spectrum, because both individualism and community are foundational American ideals.