"Isn’t That 'Dependence,' Too?"

"Communitarian conservatives (frequently, though not always, traditionalist Catholics; Ross Douthat is a pretty good contemporary example) often criticize libertarian types for complicity in the 'atomized individual' part of the destructive dynamic Nisbet was talking about, or, more practically, for promoting a political message that repels voters who don’t view 'altruism' as immoral or who may anticipate needing external help at some point in life. Indeed, you sometimes get the sense that Randians and 'traditionalists' hate each other more than their common liberal enemy. But if you boil off the philosophy and look at actual public policy issues, you have to wonder if this is often a distinction without a difference."

Ed Kilgore at The Washington Monthly contrasts individulist and communitarian conservatives.