Individualism and Collectivism shouldn't exist today
Historically, differing ideals between cultures has been known as individualism and collectivism. Along with one’s personal values, individualism or collectivism along with society also shapes how some individuals choose to live their life. In countries with higher individualist values, individuals are usually more isolated, and hold closer values towards their immediate self. When a culture is identified as collectivist, individuals tend to hold group or society values over one’s own individual interest.
Throughout prior human cultures, these ideals have shaped how societies have worked in the past and present. In the past, collectivism was formed in places where a sense of community was needed for survival. Many societies often could not sustain themselves without the help of others around them. This shaped the collectivist ideal. The individualistic ideal emerged from revolutions, innovation, and regions with less sense of community. Individualistic cultures such as the United States, have history of flourishing with the ideal due to growth and productivity that individualism brings, but lacks in sense of community at times.
So what? How does this impact our daily lives? Because the ideals of individualism and collectivism are becoming a thing of the past. Interpersonal life among humans has evolved so drastically that a new system and ideal needs to be thought of. 50 years ago, communication and connectivity that we have today as humans could not have been imagined, which is why the ideals upheld for so long. As a modern society, its important to find what’s important from both individualism and collectivism, to make a new and evolved ideal that we can use for the future.
this was evident to me as I was growing up. At times I’ve felt the difference between individualism and collectivism in the United States, compared to where I was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Growing up in a third world country in the early 2000’s, I saw a lot of poverty, and many hardships of everyday human life, but I have yet to see a flourishing community as the one I grew up in. Active community members usually played a bigger role in our family’s life, and typically in most families, such as mine, was extended beyond blood. With Brazil being a country that holds collectivist ideals, I was instilled with collectivist values from a young age. Once-upon moving to the United States, I was then introduced to the individualistic perspective. While being a rapid change, I was able to hold my collectivist values for others, while learning and exploring how to make my own choices at the same time, depending on the situation. This constant balance has shaped me into who I am today
While in high school, I noticed many students growing up alike myself. Many students shared common values for the group as much as for themselves, however they showed differently depending on the situation. Many students often showed collectivist views when it came to politics, or the economy, stating that we must “do this to better society.” While many wanted to better society, everyone had their own personal views, and have the freedom to hold individual values to better themselves.
Individualism and collectivism are labels that should not exist in todays society. With people from all over holding values from both ideals, it’s imperative to see that we must change and adapt for future generations. We must create something not like individualism and collectivism, but with elements from both.
