Kwame Anthony Appiah's Analysis

Kwame Anthony Appiah is an unapologetic liberal individualist. According to him, Importance of a person 's identity is necessary for a good life, and personal identity involves social aspects. He rightly argues: "To value individuality properly just is to acknowledge the dependence of the good for each of us on relationships with others. Without these bonds we could not come to be free selves, not least because we could not come to be selves at all." Appiah accepts the importance of relationships and identities in constituting our individuality and criticizes the schizophrenic obsession with choice that can be found among existentialist thinkers.
He defines collective identity as "the collective dimensions of our individual identities" -- and

In the past decades, a great deal of attention was given to collective identities such as race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, sexuality. It shouts for recognition and respect and sometimes at the expense of other things we value in our life. The likings and disliking of society are the main factors which determine the rules for governance of society. The people who are advanced in their thoughts have conflicts with it. They are preoccupied with themselves with what society should like or dislike rather than whether its likings or disliking should be made as a law to individuals. They try hard to change the feelings of humanity on what they believe in rather than make common cause in defense of

The liberty of any individual must not have any limits. The attainment of individuality is a central concern of liberal ethics. Life’s plans are basic life projects and commitments that are like expressions of each person’s evolving individuality as that person steers through life. A plan cannot be called as a good plan merely because a person has made it, but rather it is in accordance with realistic consideration of his or her circumstances and life