What is Individualism? Individualistic Culture Traits and Difference from Collectivism

Individualism refers to the social theory which favours an individual’s freedom of action over a collective group.

Individualism is a moral stance that promotes the moral worth of an individual

Individualistic Culture Traits

1. Self-dependency is high amongst such individuals
2. Individual right is at the centre of an individualistic culture
3. There is no dependency upon others
4. Independent decision-making is encouraged
5. The right of an individual is of paramount importance
6. The focus is on being unique and different from the crowd
7. Individuals turn out to be strong and assertive

Individualistic Countries

1. New Zealand
2. North America
3. Australia
4. Western Europe

Individualism vs Collectivism

Individualism puts the onus on autonomy, freedom, self-sufficiency and uniqueness but Collectivism puts the focus on social cooperation

In an Individualistic society, individuals fight their battles alone whereas in a Collectivistic society individuals depend on their family and friends for support

Individualistic society encourages individuals to find solutions and achieve goals by themselves whereas a Collectivistic society encourages solutions from the group

The focus is on individual identity in Individualism whereas individual identity has no meaning in Collectivism

Individualistic society encourages individuals to achieve personal comfort whereas a Collectivistic society encourages individuals to sacrifice it

Effects of Individualism on Behavior

1. People put the focus on independence and not on interdependence
2. People end up having their unique individual quirks and personal qualities
3. Individual behaviour can be anything from being sarcastic to being analytical.

This video is on Individualism and it has the following sub-topics.

Time Stamps

0:00 Introduction to Individualism
00:20 What is Individualism?
01:20 Individualistic Culture Traits
01:41 Individualistic Countries
01:57 Individualism vs. Collectivism
02:57 Effects of Individualism on Behaviour

[raiyanhussain]

Individualism, political and social philosophy that emphasizes the moral worth of the individual. Although the concept of an individual may seem straightforward, there are many ways of understanding it, both in theory and in practice. The term individualism itself, and its equivalents in other languages, dates—like socialism and other isms—from the 19th century.

Individualism once exhibited interesting national variations, but its various meanings have since largely merged. Following the upheaval of the French Revolution, individualism was used pejoratively in France to signify the sources of social dissolution and anarchy and the elevation of individual interests above those of the collective. The term’s negative connotation was employed by French reactionaries, nationalists, conservatives, liberals, and socialists alike, despite their different views of a feasible and desirable social order. In Germany, the ideas of individual uniqueness and self-realization—in sum, the Romantic notion of individuality—contributed to the cult of individual genius and were later transformed into an organic theory of national community. According to this view, state and society are not artificial constructs erected on the basis of a social contract but instead unique and self-sufficient cultural wholes. In England, individualism encompassed religious nonconformity (i.e., nonconformity with the Church of England) and economic liberalism in its various versions, including both laissez-faire and moderate state-interventionist approaches. In the United States, individualism became part of the core American ideology by the 19th century, incorporating the influences of New England Puritanism, Jeffersonianism, and the philosophy of natural rights. American individualism was universalist and idealist but acquired a harsher edge as it became infused with elements of social Darwinism (i.e., the survival of the fittest). “Rugged individualism”—extolled by Herbert Hoover during his presidential campaign in 1928—was associated with traditional American values such as personal freedom, capitalism, and limited government. As James Bryce, British ambassador to the United States (1907–13), wrote in The American Commonwealth (1888), “Individualism, the love of enterprise, and the pride in personal freedom have been deemed by Americans not only their choicest, but [their] peculiar and exclusive possession.”

[raiyanhussain]

Individualism as Tocqueville understood it, with its endorsement of private enjoyments and control of one’s personal environment and its neglect of public involvement and communal attachment, has long been lamented and criticized from both the right and the left and from both religious and secular perspectives. Especially notable critiques have been made by advocates of communitarianism, who tend to equate individualism with narcissism and selfishness. Likewise, thinkers in the tradition of “republican” political thought—according to which power is best controlled by being divided—are disturbed by their perception that individualism deprives the state of the support and active involvement of citizens, thereby impairing democratic institutions. Individualism also has been thought to distinguish modern Western societies from premodern and non-Western ones, such as traditional India and China, where, it is said, the community or the nation is valued above the individual and an individual’s role in the political and economic life of his community is largely determined by his membership in a specific class or caste.