We have tried to build a society that is neutral with respect to ends. It has led us to where we are now: a nation of angry people, with dehumanized institutions and a failing democracy. To get past this stage we need a stronger conception of what it is to flourish as human beings. And we need to make this conception central to our identity as a people and to our purpose as a nation. Just as people need personal ends, societies need public ends. And it's time for us to think about what those might be, over and above our ongoing project of equal recognition.