Alasdair Macintyre: The Argument Of Moral Individualism

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The argument of moral individualism is flawed because it claims that one can have loyalty to a community without accepting that there are obligations that do not require consent. Michael Sandel, by appealing to Alasdair Macintyre’s ideas of the conception of self and Virtue Ethics, proves that to have special loyalties to family and community members, one must accept obligations of solidarity.
Moral individualism rests on the conception that the only actions one is accountable for are the ones that have voluntarily incurred. This is because we are independent humans in society not liable for the actions of others. But, moral individualism is not justifiable to apply to society; I agree with Michael Sanders. There is no sense of loyalty without acceptation of a collective identity with which an obligation to
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This relates back to Sandel and MacIntyre’s narrative perspective and the idea that communities shape who we are throughout time.
Sandel states: “with belonging comes responsibility.” He “does not think the freedom of choice – even freedom of choice under fair conditions – is an adequate basis for a just society.” For example, a country cannot exist that has politics separated from moral debates because of the claims of solidarity such as public apologies and pride or shame in one’s country. Promises of unity and membership means that there are specific responsibilities, along with the rights, that come from being a part of a society that apply to all members. As well as there is an owing to those in the association that are a part of its history. An example exemplifying the need for obligations of solidarity would be that it may be inconvenient to have apologize for actions of your countries past even though you were not personally a part of them. But, as a person who wants to be virtuous, patriotic and of good moral character, one needs to accept the good and the bad of their collective group. One

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