Are you an individualist or a collectivist?

Question

Quick Wikipedia definitions...

"Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, or social outlook that stresses independence and self-reliance. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires, while opposing most external interference upon one's choices, whether by society, or any other group or institution. Individualism is opposed to collectivism, which stress that communal, community, group, societal, or national goals should take priority over individual goals. Individualism is also opposed to any tradition or other form of external moral standard being used to limit an individual's choice of actions."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individualism

"Collectivism is a term used to describe any moral, political, or social outlook, that stresses human interdependence and the importance of a collective, rather than the importance of separate individuals. Collectivists focus on community and society, and seek to give priority to group goals over individual goals.[1][2] The philosophical underpinnings of collectivism are for some related to holism or organicism - the view that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts/pieces. Specifically, a society as a whole can be seen as having more meaning or value than the separate individuals that make up that society. [3] Collectivism is widely seen as being opposed to individualism. Notably these views are sometimes combined in systems."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collectivism

Answer 1

I am an individualist. I do support some collectivist things such as the police force or legal system because they are there to promote individualist aims i.e. to protect the rights of individuals.

I think collectivism has a positive part to play when there is market failure.

I used to work in the pharmaceutical industry and one thing that struck me while I was there is that cures are not profitable! If you look at the kinds of treatments available for diseases today the most profitable ones are drugs that need to be taken regularly to keep a condition at bay. The most profitable treatment from a pharmaceutical company's point of view is one that needs to be taken every day by a patient for the rest of their lives - at great expense. A cure is a lost customer!

This leads me to think that public money or charity should be used to find cures for diseases because the free market fails in this case.

So I think there are special cases where collectivism is preferable to individualism BUT only because in these cases there is a net benefit to the individual from the support of the collective.

Answer 2

by your definitions, I am an individualist. But I understand that we are not alone, we are individuals who are part of a society so we need to balance our individuality with the cares and concerns of a valid society.



Too much of either individualism or collectivism is a bad thing. Unfortunately we have gone through the Me type individualism beginning in the 60's and lasting until the 90's now we are on a guilt trip of collectivism were we want government to fix all the problems that we created during those self righteous times.

Answer 3

A bit of both. Socially, I'm more of an individualist, although it's difficult to define a point where the actions of the individual start to affect and change society. I believe that we're all part of society and so we should be required to contribute accordingly through taxes to help others... how much we choose to take part in mainstream society is up to us, but we should make sure it's a decent place. Collectivist cultures seem more supportive. But I don't think anyone should have to give up their basic rights for the good of society.

Answer 4

Buddha rarely addressed societal problems in a prescriptive manner. And traditional Buddhism is generally silent about larger social trends/issues/etc. However, one of the "Three Jewels" of Buddhism is Sangha -- the community of Buddhist practitioners. Buddhism recognizes that Buddhist practice is fundamentally a societal practice. For this reason, Buddhism is not really a hermit tradition (although practitioners will sometimes engage in long solo retreats). In the larger sense, Buddhists view the world of sentient beings as Sangha. In this view, all beings work together to help all beings awaken to the truth of life. So for these reasons, Buddhism could not be viewed as individualist in nature. At the same time, Buddhism doesn't stipulate any particular kind of social organization.

Answer 5

Individualist in regards to my personal moral code and general thought process. I prefer to be a collectivist in group situations, i.e. @ work, as long as I don't have to compromise my own individualism. The good of the group is always high on my agenda, but not worth me turning my back on my core beliefs. I honestly believe that most people would be more or less of both, as previously stated.



P.S. As far as ruining my night with that story you are forgiven....just teasing :)



I actually found another one in the Current Events section yesterday. This stuff seems to happen more often than the mainstream media reports. Which doesn't surprise me.

Answer 6

I am a liberal, which is an individualist theory. However, like most modern liberals, I accept a certain amount of collectivism for the general good - ie, taxes to pay for hospitals, police, fire brigade, etc. A truly 100% individualist outlook would be anarchy - or the lack of any external control. Most people eventually identify somewhere between the two these days :-)

Answer 7

Individualist. This doesn't mean I don't believe in sometimes doing things for the good of all or helping others, however, when it comes down to it, I believe in the rights of individuals.

Answer 8

"You're all individuals!" - Brian

"Yes, we're all individuals!" - mob

"...I'm not" - an individual in the mob.

- Life of Brian



BTW - I am an individualist. But I also believe e pluribus unum. Together we form a collection of individuals.

Answer 9

Somewhere in between. It's dangerous to assume that either extreme is ideal.

Answer 10

Individualist



Nice one WSIDR!

Answer 11

I'm more of a collectivist.