What taught that people should put family and community needs above their own?

One source may be found in the 15th Century English concept of commonwealth. Commonwealth is a traditional English term used to describe a political community founded for the common good. In that sense it connotes a system concerned with the general good or advantage of all the members of a community.

Several of the states in the United States officially declare they are commonwealths. Examples are Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Massachusetts. Massachusetts declared itself as such in its constitution, which states that "The body politic is formed by a voluntary association of individuals: it is a social compact, by which the whole people covenants with each citizen, and each citizen with the whole people, that all shall be governed by certain laws for the common good."