A nation of individuals

On NPR's Morning Edition a couple days ago Steve Inskeep and Shankar Vedantam discuss the manner in which a social policy is pitched affects how people think about it. If framed in terms of "the common good" Americans, with their founding ideal of independence, are turned off. But if the idea is framed in terms of independence, Americans will pay attention. For example, discussing environmental issues for the greater good will get you nowhere. Discussing how the environment affects the person and you might gain a convert. The audio is 4 1/2 minutes. There is also a transcript.