Jane Addams’ Social Vision: Revisiting the Gospel
of Individualism and Solidarity
Kaspar Villadsen
1
Published online: 17 January 2018
#
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract Designated an early pragmatist, Jane Addams has significantly inspired
contemporary pragmatist research. However, Addams also consistently articulated
ideas harking to primordial Christianity and sought inspiration in the social gospel of
her time. This article explores how Addams’ writing resonated with key tenets of social
gospel theology, which imbued her texts with an overarching vision of humanity’s
progressive history. It is suggested that Addams’ vision of a major transition in
industrial society, one involving a BChristian renaissance^ and individuals’ transforma-
tion into Bsocialized selves^, constitutes a political eschatology. Of particular interest is
how Addams conceived the relationship between the individual and society, inventing
the term Bnew social ethics^ to reconcile the difficult balance between individual
autonomy and social solidarity. The article suggests some ways in which Addams’
writings relate to contemporary issues such as individualism, neo-conservatism, and
militarism. Her social thought constitutes a thus far under-examined source of socio-
logical critique in regard to such issues of public concern.
Keywords Jane Addams
.
Social gospel
.
Individualism
.
Solidarity
.
Political
eschatology
Jane Addams (1860–1935) has been portrayed as an early American sociologist
(Deegan 1990) and is today recognized as a pioneer in pragmatist research (e.g.
Greenstone 1979; Seigfried 1999;Schneiderhan2011). As a result, sociologists and
social scientists generally pay less attention to how Christian theology fundamentally
inspired Addams’ social thought. This article explores this inspiration, focussing
particularly on how social gospel theology continued to shape Addams’ thinking
throughout her life and her reflections on issues concerning social solidarity, social
Am Soc (2018) 49:218–241
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12108-018-9369-1
* Kaspar Villadsen
kv.mpp@cbs.dk
1
Department of Management, Politics & Philosophy, Copenhagen Business School,
Porcelænshaven 18A, DK-2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark
@Phil_Robichaud
@deepthiw
@JoseServera