We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.

Reagan contrasts two ways of explaining crime: a view that treats wrongdoing chiefly as a symptom of social failure, and a view that locates moral and legal responsibility in the individual. The quote argues that shifting blame from offenders to “society” weakens deterrence and erodes a civic culture of accountability. It also reflects a broader conservative critique, prominent in Reagan-era politics, of mid‑20th‑century rehabilitative and sociological approaches to criminal justice. By invoking an “American precept,” Reagan frames personal responsibility not merely as policy preference but as a foundational national ethic, implying that restoring it is necessary for social order and justice.