Is the United States an individualistic society, a community-oriented, collectivistic society, or both? There are many layers to this question so, in order to answer it accurately, it may be helpful to analyze it from both a positivist and anti-positivist perspective. The sociologist Auguste Comte developed the concept of positivism which is “a view of social science as empirical investigation aiming to establish general laws of society” (Craib, 1997, p. 281). Another sociologist by the name of Émile Durkheim expanded on this view with his concept of the “social fact”, which is held to “have an existence over and above individuals and force themselves upon people” (Craib, 1997, p. 281). In this analysis, social facts are the health care system and taxes in the United States and data is drawn upon public opinion surveys, especially in comparison to other societies. By contrast, anti-positivism is concerned with qualitative methods and the theories of Karen Sternheimer, Bernard McGrane, Fred Davis, and Robert Putnam are used in interpreting whether U.S. society is tends toward individualism or collectivism.
In regards to the health care system, the United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not offer universal health care, that is, health care coverage for all citizens (Harper, 2009). In addition, the United States ranks 21st in the OECD in individual income tax rates at 39.76%, in comparison to Denmark with a 59.74% tax rate and the Slovak Republic with a 19% tax rate (Atkins, 2007). To clarify, public health care and taxes (which fund many social programs such as education) are merely general indicators of the extent of collectivism and may not be accurate alone since low tax rates can be indicative of a poor economy rather than individualistic society. However, a Gallup poll in 2011, reveals that 47% of adults favor repealing the health care reform law passed in 2010 – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – whereas 42% favored keeping it in place. Furthermore, fifty-six percent of U.S. citizens say they prefer a system based on private insurance while 39% prefer a government-run system (Newport, 2011).
Notwithstanding, according to the Pew Research Center, when asked about the social safety net in 2007, 54% agreed that the government should help more needy people whereas 40% disagreed, 69% agreed that the government should guarantee food and shelter for all while 29% disagreed, and 69% agreed that the government should take care of people who cannot care for themselves whereas 28% disagreed (Morin & Neidorf). Thus, one might conclude that the United States is divided on issues of collectivistic social welfare and tends to be somewhat more individualistic when compared to other industrialized nations.
At a smaller scale – the family – one can also observe increasing individualization. In 1960, 72% of all adults were married. By comparison, 52% were married in 2008 (Pew Social Trends, 2010). Despite respondents also being more accepting of various living arrangements and placing high value on family life, the trend indicates nonconformity which is characteristic of individualism. In addition, from 1981 to 1997, household conversations dropped 100% (that is, the average family spent 0 hours per week primarily talking as a family in 1997) and children spent an average of 45 minutes per week talking with someone in the family. In 1995, daily family dinners occurred in one-third of families (Doherty).
Perhaps not coincidentally, in 2000, the average U.S. resident logged 1,978 work hours, longer than any other industrialized country including Japan, Germany, and Canada (Anderson, 2001). Moreover, perhaps as a result of spending less time with the family, 53% of young adults aged 18-29 and 58% of all adults go online for no specific reason other than simply for fun or to pass the time (Rainie, 2011).
For many, religious congregations represent community. Nonetheless, 39% of the U.S. population attended religious services weekly in 2007 (Pond, et al., 2010). In terms of philosophy, 58% of U.S. citizens believe that the freedom to pursue life’s goals is more important than the state guaranteeing that nobody is in need whereas 35% believe that the latter is more important. By comparison, 30% of Spaniards believe that the freedom to pursue life’s goals is more important and 67% believe it is more important that the state guarantee nobody is in need. Further illuminating attitudes about the power of the individual in the United States, 36% of respondents agree with the statement that “success in life is determined by forces outside our control” while 72% of Germans agreed with that statement (Pew Global, 2011). This can perhaps be credited to Benjamin Franklin’s thoughts on the benefits of hard work and thrift espoused in his popular pamphlet Poor Richard’s Almanack (Davidson). Familiar aphorisms include “a penny saved is a penny earned” and “time is money”, indicating that anyone can “make it” if they work hard and are frugal.
People are also having less social capital. According to Robert Putnam (1995), labor union membership has been dropping for decades, participation in the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) has fallen from 12 million in 1964 to 7 million in 1995, membership in civic organizations such as the League of Women Voters and Boy Scouts has decreased significantly, and a majority of bowlers are literally bowling alone rather than in leagues.
Additionally, it is important to consider attitudes toward the environment in determining to what extent a society is community-oriented or individualistic, as a community-oriented society may tend to view itself as interdependent and hence put the interests of the community (and by extension the preservation of nature) above the individual while members of an individualistic society may view themselves as independent and place self-interests above that of the community (Myers, 2009). In light of this, when gas prices reached record levels in 2008, 47% thought that it was more important to expand oil exploration, mining, and construction of power plants than to conserve and regulate energy whereas 45% thought the latter was more important (Pew Research, 2008).
As data can help generate an understanding of society objectively in general, examining people’s modes of thinking and behavior can help in understanding society on a more individual, interactionist level in terms of its individualism and/or collectivism. From the latter approach, Karen Sternheimer in her book Celebrity Culture and the American Dream (2011) makes the case that enamored with achieving “reality” television and stardom. Perhaps due to the wealth gap and lack of opportunities in the “real” world, people are looking to make it to the top by just being themselves (rather than working to close up the wealth gap for the benefit of all). The perceived social mobility is perhaps an illusion but is especially appealing considering the age of the internet which gives people a global forum with which to advertise themselves. In other words, it seems doable. Plus, celebrity life is extremely glamorized in U.S. society and ergo people want to be a part it. Whether intentional or accidental, individualism is by extension also glamorized as admirers want to be admired and stand out as the special individuals they are. Competition is thus fostered as well and people may go to extreme lengths to get what they believe they deserve. This is in contrast to collective societies where identities, esteem, and goals is bound with that of other members of the community (Myers, 2009, p. 24-27).
While positive self-regard tends to be less important to collective societies and members use the word “I” less frequently (Kashima & Kashima as cited by Myers), people in the U.S. are arguably obsessed about personal appearance. According to Bernard McGrane (1994), when people look in what he calls the “looking glass self”, how they see their reflections is different from what is actually there, that is, they are likely to be overly critical of their physical appearances (and it is perhaps no coincidence that businesses, itself based on a individualistic capitalist model, make huge profits from this type of self-critical individualism). Thus, when people see others without clothes, it is “nudity”, whereas when they themselves are without clothes, it is “nakedness”.
Lastly, the value placed upon individualism in U.S. inhabitants can further be observed in their choices of clothing. For many, clothing represents a special sense of identity and can reveal much about people and their culture and/or subculture. Fred Davis in his chapter “Of Maids’ Uniforms and Blue Jeans” discusses ways in which class, social status, ambiguity, and creativity. Considering the general lack of class consciousness in the U.S., clothing, particularly blue jeans, may instead take on the role of ambiguity as jeans are worn by both the wealthy and impoverished. Despite the tendency to underdress in the U.S., which one might interpret as uniformity, the similar style of dress across demographics may in fact symbolize a multitude of meanings including but not limited to leisure, democracy, independence, freedom, equality, fraternity, antiestablishmentarianism, conservativism, and anti-fashion. Thus, ironically, the “democratization” of blue jeans can itself a form of individualistic self-expression. Some might even take this creativity further by purchasing jeans that are faded, fringed, worn, or with brand name labels and ornamentation.
Considering all the aforementioned evidence of individualistic tendencies among the U.S. populace, one might be quick to conclude that the U.S. is indeed an individualistic society. However, one might also notice that society is split on many issues. According to David G. Myers (2009), labeling a society as purely individualist or collectivist oversimplifies the multidimensional nature of a society, since the tendencies can vary from one person to another and most people exhibit one or the other at different times and places. In addition, some regional cultures in the U.S. may be more collectivist as in Hawaii whereas others more individualist such as in Montana; and conservatives can be individualistic when it comes to regulation of business but collectivistic concerning abortion on the other hand while liberals conversely are broadly collectivists in terms of social welfare, for instance, but individualists regarding reproductive choice (Myers, 2009, p. 25). To sum up, society is neither black nor white but grey, and in the case of U.S. society, it is neither purely individualist nor collectivist but leans toward the former.
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