美國個人主義的轉變－從農業社會進入工業社會

The Changes of American Individualism: From Agricultrual Society to Industrial Society

蘇煒(Wei Su)

《人文及管理學報》 2期 (2005/11) Pp. 205-235

https://doi.org/10.6177/lam.2005.02.17

摘要

個人不能自外於社會，社會發生變動，個人亦隨之改變。因之我們在探求個人主義的要旨時，不能忽略社會的背景。在內戰之前，美國因豐厚的土地資源，封建制度的衰退與人民大多享有平等的地位，呈現一個孤立的農業社會，人與人之間的關係十分隔絕，時時與自然抗爭以求生存，此為農業的個人主義。內戰之後，工業文明突飛猛進，經濟個人主義強調人應有更多的自由，以與人競爭，謀求更多的財富。新政時期之後，過份的強調競爭反而成為文明的阻礙，團結與合作便成為個人主義新的內涵。

關鍵字

美國個人主義 ； 農業個人主義 ； 經濟個人主義

並列摘要

Individuals cannot be independent of society. When society changes, its members have to modify their behavior patterns. Thus when exploring the content of individualism, we cannot ignore its social background. Before the Civil War, the newly independent country remained an agricultural and democratic society because of the rich land resources, equal social condition and the dissipation of feudalism. Each individual was rather isolated, and struggled to survive against the natural environment, leading to the birth of agricultrual individualism. After the Civil War, the fruits of industry made the US an affluent society. Economic individualism claimed that people should enjoy more freedom to compete with one another for their wealth. After the era of New Deal, society became increasingly complicated. Supporters of old individualism, which valued competence, found it a hindrance to moving toward a more perfect society. Collaboration and unity might be the new formulas to help individuals survive well in the new society.