Abstract

On Thursday, May 7th, The European Centre for Ethics organized the first ‘Politeia-conference’, whose aim is to reflect on responsible policy and civic sensibility. The title was ‘Courageous or Indifferent Individualism’ and the guest speaker was Robert Bellah, Eliot Professor of Sociology, University of California. In this issue, you will find Bellah’s lecture, the position papers and the discussion.Individualism can be seen as a gift or a curse, depending on the context in which it occurs. Alongside ideals such as maturity, autonomy and emancipation, ‘individualism’ appears as one of modern culture’s most cherished acquisitions. An individualist is considered to be someone with personality and character, someone who is not easily intimidated by social pressure or customs, someone with a personal opinion and a singular view of the world. Because modern society finds it important that people think independently, decide autonomously and take personal initiatives, the concept of individualism has acquired a positive connotation.However, individualism is also linked with the tendency to withdraw from social life and turn in towards oneself. Alexis de Tocqueville described individualism as the cool and considered attitude which drives people to withdraw into a small, enclosed world consisting of their family and a few select friends, leaving the rest of society to its own devices.This dual connotation of individualism is reflected in the title of the conference by the qualifiers ‘courageous’ and ‘indifferent’. Courageous individualism refers to the dedication shown by people who have independently chosen for something or someone and work energetically for its sake in spite of opposition from family or society; indifferent individualism refers to people who have either lost all hope in their fellow human beings or are no longer interested in initiatives of a social nature, with the result that they are prepared to withdraw from society at all costs.