The General Study on Relationship between Individuals and Communities in the Modern History of Europe and America

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These days, there are many social diseases emerged from free competition which is based on the premise of individual independence. Social diseases are seen at various aspects and to large extent, which are in common especially in industrialized nations. They are thought to be deeply related with the ongoing reality that "stability", "social solidarity" and "common values" necessary for the foundation of life have been shaking. And also individual isolation is bound to cause confusion of individual identity.Our common theme has been taking account of such present social circumstances, to study historically about individual's life made up of multiple social connections and identities under the relationship between the compulsory state and many selective (voluntary, discretionary) societies (associations), which were sometimes hostile and sometimes supplementary each other. In other words, we've tried to make inquires into plurality or multiplicity of identity through looking into historical context and relationship between "individual freedom and right" valued by Libertarians and "social solidarity" advocated by Communitarians.We haven't adopted the conventional dualism which makes it a clear premise that the nation state consists of individuals directly. Instead, we've had taken the focus on a variety of social groups in the intermediate sphere between individuals and the state, generally called "civil society", in order to investigate plural aspects of transformation of individual identity in the historical process of national integration.