Collectivism vs. Individuality
Disclaimer: I am not an expert of philosophy nor claim to
be a psychologist.
I
wonder why what is so attractive towards collectivism. Could it be safety in numbers, where a group
has a better chance of surviving a battle than an individual? Could it be that it could be easier to adopt
someone else’s ideology? Maybe it is the
comfort of being in a group, which most of the time a supernatural angel or god
(goddess) would be involved in group worship.
In collectivism, it is often one person who is elected (in the implied
sense) to determine the ideology of the group.
Examples of collectivism is present in feminism, religion, and fandom of
sports and other entertainment venues.
On
the surface, collectivism is attractive, taking the “We are all one” attitude. (sounds like New Age) Everyone is the same and therefore, everyone
is expected to have the same attitude and goals. This extends to how people of
a group treat other people.
As
much as someone wants to be part of a collective, often that person starts to
demonstrate a difference or a disagreement.
This is where it can get dangerous.
Hopefully the collective allows for personal differences and accepts
people for who they are. Unfortunately,
this is usually not the case. As seen
with religion and third-wave feminism, anyone who exhibits even a difference,
no matter how small, has been deemed to breach the collective. Punishment comes swift and harsh: anywhere
from psychological trickery to being banished outright. Regardless how many times the “offender”
apologizes, that person will be marked as the enemy.
Individuality
is the recognition that everyone is an individual human, complete with his/her
set of beliefs, values, and lifestyles.
Compared against collectivism, being an individual can get lonely. One might feel that no one is there for
them. It happens to me every once in a
while.
To
recognize individuality takes work.
First, a person has to determine his/her own personality and
philosophy. This may include research,
observation, and learning from mistakes.
You are not told how to live, how to believe, or what philosophy to
follow. It may also include having to
survive criticism (and possibly attacks) from both sides of the political or
social aisle. It may also be harder to
make friends being an individual.
Despite
this, there are positives to embracing individuality. First, you are you own person. You are not controlled by a collective and
what you do is up to you. Second,
individuality gives you the gift of being genuine, which is an attractive
trait. Third, it is easier to stand out
and be recognized, at least in some capacity, if you are an individual than
participating in a collective.
What
do you think? What would you choose:
collectivism vs. individuality? I lean
towards individuality.
Eddie
