Conservatives have long prized individual freedom. They try to embody it in their lives, their political aspirations, and even in the names of the groups that populate the conservative movement (“Young Americans for Freedom”) and the Republican Party (“House Freedom Caucus”). It is appropriate to accept and honor this as part of the political and cultural inheritance of our Founding, and as the source of important classical-liberal tenets in our public life, such as free speech, civic liberty, and limited government. There is no question that individual freedom is integral to what America stands for.
Unfortunately, at times, those on the right are overly sympathetic to a simplistic reading of the libertarian ethos that sees civic relations as being only between individuals and the state, and individual freedom and its derivatives as the only things worth valuing. Consider, as an extreme example of this view, the libertarian economist Murray Rothbard, who once argued for a “purely free society” that would, among other things, “have a flourishing free market in children” bought and sold as goods by parents. Rothbard is an odd case, to be sure, and not necessarily representative. (“Yes, Murray Rothbard believed in freedom, and yes, David Koresh believed in God,” William F. Buckley Jr. wrote in his obituary for Rothbard.) But it is nevertheless true that freedom alone cannot sustain a cohesive people.
Individual freedom, moreover, is not the only part of the Founding legacy, nor is it the totality of the conservative tradition. There is also a vital communitarian strain within conservatism, one that is often underappreciated. Though not always: In the 1960s and 1970s, Russell Kirk’s Modern Age, for example, contained a plethora of essays emphasizing the importance of civic engagement and local associational membership. Though there is obvious merit in individual freedom, it would be foolish for us to understate the advantages of community, social capital, and societal togetherness. Alexis de Tocqueville, for example, said that associations are “stronger and more formidable than a simple individual can be.”
A new eye-opening study from the peer-reviewed journal Nature affirms his point. The study, which breaks down social capital into three categories — economic connectedness, social cohesion, and civic engagement — found that children have a much greater chance of being upwardly mobile if they reside in communities with high levels of “economic connectedness.” Economic connectedness (EC) refers to the integration of people from different economic backgrounds. The study concludes that levels of EC vary depending on one’s geographical residence. Impoverished inner-city areas, for example, have remarkably low levels of EC, since most residents occupy the same socioeconomic stratum. Conversely, an area with a healthy combination of high-income and low-income residents increases the odds of economic success for low-income individuals.
In social-capital literature, economic connectedness would fall under the category of “bridging.” Bridging, though, can take place only when people go out of their way to interact and socialize. This often requires individuals to venture outside of their comfort zones. Thus, another key component of bridging is that it facilitates the integration of people who normally would not associate with each other.
This study strengthens the argument for a more Tocquevillian America, as opposed to one characterized solely or mostly by a liberal (in the purely classical sense) ethos. It is not the only such study. Alan Ehrenhalt, contributing editor to Governing Magazine and author of The Lost City, has written passionately about the dangerous effects of the decline, over the past couple of decades, of American community life. Other conservatives, such as William Schambra, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, have written extensively about the importance of local associations and what Robert Putnam has called “we-ness.” We should listen to them.
What Buckley called the “libertarian” streak is an essential part of the American character. But it must be counterbalanced by a complementary communitarian streak. What we need right now is a synthesis of these two aspects of America’s unique identity.