Question

How has my experience shaped my view of individualism?

Answer 1

The individual identifies primarily with self, with the needs of the individual being satisfied before those of the group. Looking after and taking care of oneself, being self-sufficient, guarantees the well-being of the group. Independence and self-reliance are greatly stressed and valued.

Individualism allows you to have your own personal opinion and to share these with your environment, and to hear other opinions. This allows you see everything from different perspectives and maybe you could realize that what you thought was wrong, or show a group another view on matters.

In collectivism your opinion gets somewhat swallowed by the group, and often your opinions in a straight line with the groups’. I don’t see how this could be in a slightest bit interesting. I love debating matters, even controversial things, and see everything from all different perspectives. And the fact that I shouldn’t be afraid to do so is a true blessing, as I live in a highly individual country, namely Belgium.

Now, I do realize that collectivism has a lot of good sides as well, as I do realize that Belgians, being oh so individual, tend to care about themselves and their close friends and family only. There is no group-spirit, or just a little bit anyway. We tend to think that stating our own personal opinion is a right and do not give any importance to belonging to a group. And this is highly remarkable.
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Jian Sun
, individualism is a delusion.
Answered July 22, 2016