My understanding of collectivism, in human interactions, is "putting the group's goals before your own goals, and defining yourself in terms of the group rather than individual attributes."
My understanding of individualism, in human interactions, is "putting your own goals before any group's goals and defining yourself in terms of your own, unique attributes."
While I've realistically believed that both collectivism and individualism should preferably be balanced with each other, if asked which I value the most (as in, you can only pick one or the other to define yourself,) I have a hard time answering that, and here's why...
Being both a collectivist and an individualist, at times, seem necessary for being a genuine human being, to me. After all, it's what separates us from being wild animals.
Certain animals, like fish, are extremely individualistic: they fend only for themselves, don't warn each other of fishers, don't even raise their offspring, and even eat their weakest offspring!
Other animals, like ants (which are animals!) are extremely collectivist: worker ants have nearly no sense of self, have no abilities to protect their own lives over the queen's, and kill and eat fellow ants who pose a threat to the ant society.
Being human is about being humane, which is clearly not present in both extremes.
The reason why I used the title, "Collectivism Versus Individualism" (instead of "Individualism Versus Collectivism") is because I grew up in a very collectivist family. If you think about my last name and profile picture (har har, Captain Obvious) you probably would understand that I'm a Chinese/Asian American and, as such, my upbringing was very collectivist – oriented. You know, the whole Chinese/Asian stereotype of "You have brought dishonor to your family!" and such is actually a truthful stereotype that is present even to this day. But I digress. The reason why I bring this fact about me up is because it reflects the natural imbalance of Collectivism and Individualism in my life, which I have tried to balance out on my own. You see, I have resisted the mondo collectivist culture of my family, but in no way am I an individualistic loner.
How do you view Collectivism and Individualism?
Which are you more like? Which is more important to you?
Stories?
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