individualism: References & Edit History

An overview of individualism is Steven Lukes, Individualism (1973, reprinted 1984). Classic statements on individualism by major thinkers include Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 2 vol. (1835; originally published in French, 1835), vol. 2, part 2, chapter 2; Jacob Burckhardt, The Civilisation of the Period of the Renaissance in Italy, 2 vol. (1878; originally published in German, 1860); Émile Durkheim, “Individualism and the Intellectuals,” in Robert N. Bellah (ed.), Émile Durkheim on Morality and Society (1973; essay originally published in French, 1898), pp. 43–57; and F.A. Hayek, Individualism and Economic Order (1948, reissued 1996). A discussion of methodological individualism can be found in Karl Popper, The Poverty of Historicism (1957, reissued 1997). A clear critical account of ontological individualism is Charles Taylor, Philosophy and the Human Sciences (1985). A scholarly treatment of individualism in contrast to collectivism can be found in Harry C. Triandis, Individualism and Collectivism (1995).

Works discussing the alleged dangers of individualism include Christopher Lasch, The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations (1978, reissued 1991); Robert N. Bellah et al., Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life (1985, reissued 1996); and Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (2000). A defense of individualism against such critiques is Herbert J. Gans, Middle American Individualism: The Future of Liberal Democracy (1988, reissued 1991).