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Resumo

There is a lively debate in sociology about the consequences of what is seen as growing individualism, especially the capacity of individualism for realizing collective outcomes. Research on personal communities offers one solution to this dilemma, evaluating friendship as a source of social capital with potential public value. However, it fails to show that personal communities might arise from or lead to civic engagement. This ar ticle draws examples from a small study of volunteers to extend this concept, in the process revealing how individualism merges with public participation. I emphasize the voluntarist underpinnings of friendship, which demonstrates its similarities with volunteering. By exploring volunteering relationships, personal communities are shown to be 'a different kind of friendship', combining intimacy, sociability and civility within the public domain. Identity concerns also inform 'these different kinds of friendship', suggesting further ways that individualism can fuse with civic aims.

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