Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that emphasizes the moral worth of
the individual.[1][2] Individualists
promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and
self-reliance[3] and
advocate that interests of the individual should achieve precedence over the state or a
social group,[3] while
opposing external interference upon one's own interests by society or institutions such as
the government.[3] Individualism
is often defined in contrast to totalitarianism, collectivism and
more corporate social
forms.[4][5]
Individualism
makes the individual its focus[1] and so
starts "with the fundamental premise that the human individual is of
primary importance in the struggle for liberation."[6] Classical Liberalism, existentialism, and anarchism are
examples of movements that take the human individual as a central unit of analysis.[6] Individualism
thus involves "the right of the individual to freedom and
self-realization".[7]
It has
also been used as a term denoting "The quality of being an individual;
individuality"[3] related
to possessing "An individual characteristic; a quirk."[3]Individualism is thus also
Etymology
In the English language,
the word "individualism" was first introduced, as a pejorative, by
the Owenites in
the late 1830s, although it is unclear if they were influenced by Saint-Simonianism or
came up with it independently.[11] A
more positive use of the term in Britain came to be used with the writings of James
Elishama Smith, who was a millenarian and
a Christian
Israelite. Although an early Owenite socialist,
he eventually rejected its collective idea of property, and found in
individualism a "universalism" that allowed for the development of
the "original genius." Without individualism, Smith argued,
individuals cannot amass property to increase one's happiness.[11] William Maccall,
another Unitarian preacher,
and probably an acquaintance of Smith, came somewhat later, although influenced
by John
Stuart Mill, Thomas Carlyle,
and German
Romanticism, to the same positive conclusions, in his
1847 work "Elements of Individualism
Individualism
and society[edit]
Individualism
holds that a person taking part in society attempts to learn and discover what
his or her own interests are on a personal basis, without a presumed following
of the interests of a societal structure (an individualist need not be an egoist). The individualist does not follow one particular
philosophy, rather creates an amalgamation of elements of many, based on
personal interests in particular aspects that she/he finds of use. On a
societal level, the individualist participates on a personally structured
political and moral ground. Independent thinking and opinion is a common trait
of an individualist. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, claims that his concept of "general
will" in the "social contract"[14] is not
the simple collection of individual wills and that it furthers the interests of
the individual (the constraint of law itself would be beneficial for the
individual, as the lack of respect for the law necessarily entails, in
Rousseau's eyes, a form of ignorance and
submission to one's passions instead
of the preferred autonomy of reason).
Societies
and groups can differ in the extent to which they are based upon predominantly
"self-regarding" (individualistic, and/or self-interested) behaviors,
rather than "other-regarding" (group-oriented, and group, or
society-minded) behaviors. Ruth
Benedict made a distinction, relevant in this
context, between "guilt"
societies (e.g., medieval
Europe) with an "internal
reference standard", and "shame"
societies (e.g., Japan, "bringing shame upon
one's ancestors") with an "external reference standard", where
people look to their peers for feedback on whether an action is
"acceptable" or not (also known as "group-think").[15]
Individualism
is often contrasted[5] either
with totalitarianism or with collectivism, but in fact, there is a spectrum of
behaviors at the societal level ranging from highly individualistic societies
through mixed societies to collectivist.
With the abolition of private property, then, we shall have
true, beautiful, healthy Individualism. Nobody will waste his life in
accumulating things, and the symbols for things. One will live. To live is the
rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.
Individualists are
chiefly concerned with protecting individual autonomy against obligations
imposed by social institutions (such as the state or religious morality). For L. Susan Brown "Liberalism
and anarchism are two political philosophies that are fundamentally concerned
with individual freedom yet
differ from one another in very distinct ways. Anarchism shares with liberalism
a radical commitment to individual freedom while rejecting liberalism's
competitive property relations."[6]
Civil
libertarianism is a strain of political thought that
supports civil liberties, or which emphasizes the supremacy of individual rights and personal freedoms over
and against any kind of authority (such as a state,
a corporation,
social norms imposed through peer pressure,
etc.).[24] Civil
libertarianism is not a complete ideology;
rather, it is a collection of views on the specific issues of civil liberties and civil rights.
Because of this, a civil libertarian outlook is compatible with many other
political philosophies, and civil libertarianism is found on both the right and left in
modern politics.[25] For
scholar Ellen
Meiksins Wood "there are doctrines of
individualism that are opposed to Lockean
individualism ... and non-lockean individualism may encompass socialism"
Liberalism[edit]
Liberalism
(from the Latin liberalis, "of freedom; worthy of a free man,
gentlemanlike, courteous, generous")[27] is the
belief in the importance of individual freedom. This belief is widely accepted
in the United States, Europe, Australia and other Western nations,
and was recognized as an important value by many Western philosophers
throughout history, in particular since the
Enlightenment. It is
often rejected by collectivist, Islamic, or confucian societies
in Asia or the Middle
East (though Taoists were
and are known to be individualists).[28] The
Roman Emperor Marcus
Aurelius wrote praising "the idea of a polity
administered with regard to equal rights and equal freedom of speech, and the
idea of a kingly government which respects most of all the freedom of the
governed".[29]
Modern
liberalism has its roots in the Age of Enlightenment and
rejects many foundational assumptions
that dominated most earlier theories of government, such as the Divine Right of Kings, hereditary status, and established
religion. John
Locke is often credited with the philosophical
foundations of classical liberalism. He wrote "no one ought to harm another in his life,
health, liberty, or possessions."[30]
In the
17th century, liberal ideas began to influence governments in Europe, in
nations such as The Netherlands, Switzerland, England and Poland, but they were
strongly opposed, often by armed might, by those who favored absolute monarchy
and established religion. In the 18th century, in America, the first modern liberal state was founded,
without a monarch or a hereditary aristocracy.[31] The
American Declaration of Independence includes
the words (which echo Locke) "all men are created equal; that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness; that
to insure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their
just powers from the consent of the governed."[32]
Liberalism
comes in many forms. According to John N.
Gray, the essence of
liberalism is toleration of different beliefs and of different ideas as to what
constitutes a good life.[33]
Individualist anarchism[edit]
Individualist
anarchism refers to several traditions of thought within the anarchist movement
that emphasize the individual and their will over
any kinds of external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and
ideological systems.[49][50] Individualist
anarchism is not a single philosophy but refers to a group of individualistic
philosophies that sometimes are in conflict.
In
1793, William
Godwin, who has often[51] been
cited as the first anarchist, wrote Political
Justice, which
some consider to be the first expression of anarchism.[52][53] Godwin,
a philosophical anarchist, from a rationalist and utilitarian basis
opposed revolutionary action and saw a minimal state as a present "necessary evil"
that would become increasingly irrelevant and powerless by the gradual spread
of knowledge.[52][54] Godwin
advocated individualism, proposing that all cooperation in labour be eliminated
on the premise that this would be most conducive with the general good.[55][56]
An
influential form of individualist anarchism, called "egoism,"[57] or
egoist anarchism, was expounded by one of the earliest and best-known
proponents of individualist anarchism, the German Max
Stirner.[58] Stirner's The Ego and Its Own, published in 1844, is a founding text of the philosophy.[58] According
to Stirner, the only limitation on the rights of the individual is their power
to obtain what they desire,[59] without
regard for God, state, or morality.[60] To
Stirner, rights were spooks in the mind, and he held that society does
not exist but "the individuals are its reality".[61] Stirner
advocated self-assertion and foresaw unions of
egoists,
non-systematic associations continually renewed by all parties' support through
an act of will,[62] which
Stirner proposed as a form of organization in place of the state.[63] Egoist
anarchists claim that egoism will foster genuine and spontaneous union between
individuals.[64] "Egoism"
has inspired many interpretations of Stirner's philosophy. It was re-discovered
and promoted by German philosophical anarchist and LGBT activist John
Henry Mackay.
Josiah Warren is widely regarded as the first American anarchist,[65] and the
four-page weekly paper he edited during 1833, The
Peaceful Revolutionist, was
the first anarchist periodical published.[66] For
American anarchist historian Eunice Minette Schuster "It is
apparent...that Proudhonian Anarchism
was to be found in the United States at least as early as 1848 and that it was
not conscious of its affinity to the Individualist Anarchism of Josiah Warren and Stephen Pearl Andrews...William
B. Greene presented this Proudhonian Mutualism in its
purest and most systematic form.".[67] Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) was an important early
influence in individualist anarchist thought in the United States and Europe.[68] Thoreau
was an American author, poet, naturalist, tax
resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, philosopher, and leading transcendentalist. He is best known for his books Walden, a reflection upon simple
living in natural surroundings, and his essay, Civil Disobedience, an argument for individual resistance to civil government in
moral opposition to an unjust state. Later Benjamin
Tucker fused Stirner's egoism with the economics
of Warren and Proudhon in his eclectic influential publication Liberty.
From
these early influences individualist anarchism in different countries attracted
a small but diverse following of bohemian artists and intellectuals,[69] free love and birth
control advocates (see Anarchism and issues
related to love and sex),[70][71]individualist naturists nudists (see anarcho-naturism),[72][73][74] freethought and anti-clerical activists[75][76] as well
as young anarchist outlaws in what came to be known as illegalism and individual reclamation[77][78] (see European individualist anarchism and individualist anarchism in
France). These authors and
activists included Oscar
Wilde, Emile
Armand, Han Ryner, Henri
Zisly, Renzo
Novatore, Miguel Gimenez Igualada, Adolf
Brand and Lev
Chernyi among others. In his important essay The Soul of Man under
Socialism from 1891 Oscar Wilde defended socialism as
the way to guarantee individualism and so he saw that "With the abolition
of private property, then, we shall have true, beautiful, healthy
Individualism. Nobody will waste his life in accumulating things, and the
symbols for things. One will live. To live is the rarest thing in the world.
Most people exist, that is all."[79] For
anarchist historian George
Woodcock "Wilde's aim in The Soul of Man under
Socialism is to seek the society most favorable to
the artist ... for Wilde art is the supreme end, containing within itself
enlightenment and regeneration, to which all else in society must be
subordinated ... Wilde represents the anarchist as aesthete."[80]Woodcock finds that "The most
ambitious contribution to literary anarchism during the 1890s was undoubtedly
Oscar Wilde The Soul of Man under
Socialism"
and finds that it is influenced mainly by the thought of William
Godwin
Humanism
Humanism
is a perspective common to a wide range of ethical
stances that attaches importance to human dignity,
concerns, and capabilities, particularly rationality. Although the word has
many senses, its meaning comes into focus when contrasted to the supernatural
or to appeals to authority.[103][104] Since
the 19th century, humanism has been associated with an anti-clericalism
inherited from the 18th-century Enlightenment philosophes. 21st century Humanism tends to strongly
endorse human
rights, including reproductive rights, gender
equality, social
justice, and
the separation of church and
state. The term covers organized non-theistic religions, secular
humanism, and a
humanistic life stance
Objectivism[edit]
Objectivism is a system of philosophy created by
philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand (1905–1982)
that holds: reality exists
independent of consciousness; human beings gain knowledge rationally from
perception through the process of concept formation and inductive and deductive
logic; the moral purpose of one's life is the pursuit of one's own happiness or
rational self-interest. Rand thinks the only social system consistent with this
morality is full respect for individual rights, embodied in pure laissez
faire capitalism; and the role of art in human life is to transform man's widest
metaphysical ideas, by selective reproduction of reality, into a physical
form—a work of art—that he can comprehend and to which he can respond
emotionally. Objectivism celebrates man as his own hero, "with his own
happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his
noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.
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