Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life

The tension between individualism and communal life in America forms a central theme in Habits of the Heart, as the text scrutinizes the cultural ethos that champions personal liberty while often neglecting the fabric of the community. The book probes questions about the nature of American self-perception and its consequences on both national and global stages. It asks to what extent American individualism aligns with the broader human experience and whether the nation’s historical emphasis on autonomy has led to a fragmentation of societal bonds.

Habits of the Heart suggests that Americans have constructed the American identity around a notion of exceptionalism, a belief that the text encapsulates as imagining “ourselves a special creation, set apart from other humans” (294). However, the book advocates for a reevaluation of this self-conception, proposing humility and generosity as mechanisms for reconnecting with the global community: “to rejoin the human race, to accept our essential poverty as a gift, and to share our material wealth with those in need” (294). Here, the idea of “essential poverty” may be interpreted not as material lack but as an acknowledgment of shared human vulnerability and interdependence.