The Dark Art of Individualism: The Rise of the Individual and the Decline of the Collective

Our planet faces many grave problems that can only be tackled by a united people and the COVID 19 pandemic made me realise that these problems don’t just exist in theory. However, the rise of extreme individualism starting from the 1980’s not only made these problems harder to tackle but in some cases it has accelerated their likelihood too. These obstacles are solvable but require a shift in our mindsets and where we prioritise our awareness. The “third sector”, Civil Society is the solution to our problems if we can provide it with more prestige, attention and funding.

1. What is individualism

Individualism is the ability to think for ourselves and choose our own path. Our ancestors and most of the ancient civilizations were a community of people living together in a similar way; We had a “society of equals” where no one was superior or inferior, where everybody had a say and where the individual has equal rights with the individual. The free market is the opposite of collectivism because when we put our effort and initiative into finding jobs we are contributing to a free market and when we decide to share in a free market it is a “collective action”. As the 20th century progressed individualism took on a negative connotation and became more defined as selfishness, a “will to dominate” and “freedom from all ties”.

Individualism is a concept that has been around since the Protestant Reformation, but it has taken on a new shape and form in the past few decades. Individuals have begun to see themselves as self-contained and independent. The individual and the collective are at odds.

I’ve often wondered to myself why this is the case. And it finally dawned on me that modern society has given us two competing narratives:

• The individual is the locus of responsibility, creativity, and greatness.
• The collective is the locus of community, belonging, and security.

Both narratives make sense. But the individual, for better and for worse, has won the day.

2. The positives of individualism

Individualism in moderation has many wonderful benefits including: 1) A rise in self-reliance and empowerment which enables the individual to take control of her own life. 2) Individuals are more free to invest in themselves and get inspired to achieve a better future. 3) Individuals invest more time and money in themselves to find out what they want in life. 4) Individuals develop more skills for social advancement and adaptation. 5) Increased motivation to take responsibility for their life and that of others. 6) Self-confidence which is an essential building block for social and economic change.

Some of the biggest positives of individualism are for instance the ability to experience passion in your work. Passion means different things to different people, it is largely a subjective assessment of how you feel about what you do and why you do it. At the end of the day people who achieve the greatest success in life tend to be those who have a deep and abiding passion for what they do. We spend almost all of our waking lives at work and for most of us this is the one of the only places where we feel we have value and are recognised for it. This is why the ability to achieve success in one’s work is so fundamental to our life satisfaction and how much we value what we do. The rise of individualism is no doubt one of the main reasons why we experienced a rise in rapid growth in global wealth. Individualism has encouraged people to continuously improve their selves, their lives and their living standards. In the post war years of the 50’s and 60’s the average growth rate was above 4 percent compared to the average 2 percent increase in the subsequent decades today.

The rise of the individual and the decline of the collective presents a bizarre paradox. Despite the emergence of the “self,” we’ve never been more connected to each other than we are today. Yet, we’ve never been more alone, too. We’ve been conditioned to put our own needs before the needs of the collective.

3. Individualism has gone too far leading to extreme individualism

However, in reality, if individualism is taken to an extreme individuals become more interested in how to make their life more individual and easy, rather than collectively changing the world. By becoming too individualistic, we distance ourselves from our environments, society and other people as we are not driven to create something greater than ourselves. In many ways this path of narcissism leads to society leading to isolation as people become less connected and less willing to cooperate.

There’s also been a shift in consumerism as we begin to live a more isolated, single and monocultural lifestyle. Just as we often say we’re all in it together we sometimes forget to think and realise the interconnectedness of us all, the consequences of individualism especially when it’s paired with mass consumption and mindless consumerism. When we sit back and wait for some distant ideal of what we want and don’t have or what society expects of us we become part of the problem not the solution.

Beginning in the 1980’s and accelerating ever since. This trend of extreme or radical individualism has become stronger throughout the first decade of the 21st century and it doesn’t look like it’s going to diminish anytime soon. Radical Individualism is causing major problems in our world in that it is now in competition with collective social consciousness and an aversion to collective ethics, like global warming and animal rights.

The rise of radical individualism was made possible due to the invasion of an uncontrollable Internet. The internet allows any individual to be exposed to the same amount of information but it also allows them to be exposed to alternative ideas. The information that was once widely available is now divided between people which is not healthy as we have no time to test, verify and appreciate the good ideas. However, in a world where politicians and the news have traditionally acted as a barrier to radical individualism, the internet can be a great leveller and the result is an increase in extreme individualism.

The internet allows individuals to look up facts online in the comfort of their own home, especially when the so-called truth has become so very subjective. The web is the only platform which brings people together, this is a fantastic thing but it also exacerbates the divisiveness.

I am incredibly passionate about the benefits that technology can bring but there are downsides to this too, we’ll cover this in future blogs.

4. Civil society can solve this

Civil society is the community of voluntary individuals working for a common good. Not religious organisations or political parties, but individuals who join forces for an aim. This could be a non government organisation such as the UN, or a charity, it could even be a community group or many other things.

It is through civil society and its interest groups that we will receive political participation that will involve many people and benefit the whole of society, including many social and political problems that are in our face.

Reducing radical individualism is by no means a quick fix and it needs our help. There are steps that we can take ourselves and by working with other like-minded people to save the world. Most importantly, the third sector needs more acknowledgement and funding. If the second world war showed us anything, it’s that you can’t just sit and watch as things go bad if you want to make a difference to the situation. It’s all about speaking up, connecting with those around you, becoming more aware of what is happening around the world and making the difference ourselves.

Volunteering can defeat extreme individualism by helping to create bonds between people and having an eye on the well-being of others. This is the essence of humanism that the US forefathers, greek philosophers and enlightened thinkers were so fond of. Despite their ideological divergence they were able to work in harmony for a greater common goal. However, the resurgence of extreme individualism has now created problems like the existing war on the environment and the lack of trust and progress in politics.

I am a true believer in helping people in need and volunteering as a way to cope with my own problems. The emotional connection you make with the person or people that you help really bonds you and for that moment you feel happy that you have made the world a better place.