The world we live in today is full of hate and duplicity. We live in a world where people daily deal with inequality and injustice. Collectivism is the idea of saying that an individual life belongs not to him/her but to a society or group of which he/she is a part of. It also saying that the person has no rights and that he must sacrifice his values and goals for the society he lives in. This topic is important because collectivism is the exact opposite of individualism which will help us all to have a better understanding of the exact meaning. The world in the book and our world are the same in the sense of that they both establish equality. In this essay, I will be telling you about these three laws; gun law, gay rights and providing healthcare which all are collectivist laws as of today.
To begin with, this idea of collectivism is more about living as a whole instead of individually. Gun law is one example of collectivism because it’s all about giving the right to a whole citizen instead of just somebody with authority or power. It’s clear that most people like owning guns beca...
The word collectivism often makes people cringe. Overall, there is a general fear of not being able to make personal decisions in America. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, collectivism can be defined as; emphasis on collective rather than individual action or identity (“Collectivism”). In Anthem, Ayn Rand describes an extreme collectivist society. Although Anthem’s society seems extremely surreal, aspects of its collectivist society closely mirror today’s society.
Celinska, K. (2007). Individualism and Collectivism in America: The Case of Gun Ownership and Attitudes Toward Gun Control. Sociological Perspectives, 50(2), 229-247. doi:1.
...bol of individualism. As reason defines, it’s sensible to define individuals, individually; as separate entities. Collectivism, on the other hand, undermines this principle. Ironically, this lack of reason is exactly what allows for it to achieve political and societal success—by utilizing the undefeatable irrationality.
Collectivism, the rejection of personal desires for the communal good of a whole, is a contradictory philosophy, for it punishes those who adhere to its doctrine, while simultaneously rewarding those who exploit it. In Ayn Rand’s We the Living, collectivism, as with any other political ideology, has positive and negative applications, and, whether wielded as a mechanism of justice, or terror, the pendulum of its consequence swings in both directions. In its purest form, collectivism would theoretically rise from the mass cooperation of a group for that group’s benefit; resting in the altruistic hands of the group members and running on honesty, integrity, and moral uprightness. In actuality, as portrayed through Ayn Rand’s novel, collectivism is the suppression of independent thought in the name of an assembly to whom one is forced to swear loyalty and, furthermore, results in the rationalization of tyranny for the ‘common good.’ The enticement of supremacy overwhelms any philanthropy that those in power would potentially have, spelling despair for those at their mercy.
Individualism and collectivism are conflicting beliefs with the nature of humans, society, and the relationships between them, however, these ideologies are not diametrically opposing since both are essential towards balancing beliefs from becoming extremes. The first source represents the idea of collectivism and suggests that the society must focus on moving their viewpoint from ‘me’ into ‘we’ in the interest of survival and progression. This perspective presents the idea that the individual’s advantage belongs not only to the person, but to the group or society of which he or she is a part of, and that the individual’s values and goals are for the group’s “greater good.” Likewise, Karl Marx’s principle of communism emphasizes in the elimination
A collectivist society is a society in which a group of people are prioritized over individuals. In Ayn Rand’s Anthem, this collectivist society has no opposition nor rebellion yet not many seem to enjoy their life in society.
It is human nature to see those who are different and group them into distinct categories. The distinction of Individualism versus Collectivism is one that is currently being studied extensively. On one side, individualism sees individuals as the fundamental unit of a society. Individuals are supposed to be unique, independent, and most importantly, willing to put their own interests above all others. On the other hand, collectivism views the basic building block of society as social groups, stressing the interpersonal bonds between people. Collectivist values dictate that group goals and values have higher precedence than an individual’s. Due to the seemingly polar opposite nature of these ideologies, it is inevitable that they will be compared to see which is more beneficial to the country and its people. Some might point to the success of the US, an extremely individualistic country, in support of individualistic values. They will point to the freedom of choice and diversity that individualism boasts of. Others stress the flaws of the US in response, and while both sides do have their truths, the costs that come with individualistic values are too great to be ignored. Highly individualistic attitudes have caused many large scale problems which have long been identified as difficult to resolve issues. These problems include, but are not limited to, promoting aggressive acts, creating an obsession with social power, and allowing a system of injustice to be born.
In the novel, Anthem, written by Ayn Rand takes place when mankind has entered another dark age. A man named Equality 7-2521 lives in a society where he struggles to live equal within the brotherhood. In the world he lives in people are told they exist only for the sake of serving society, and have no other purpose. Therefore, each individual is assigned a vocation as a permanent life career which determines who they socialize and live with. However, Equality being very different from his brothers, believes in individualism and rejects the collectivism society around him. The concept of individualism vs collectivism is portrayed in the story because individuality is unknown to the people where no one is unique or excellent in any way. The people
The first basic issue confronting all societies is to define the nature of the relation between the individual and the group. This dimension is frequently labeled as individualism versus collectivism (Hofstede, 1980, 1991). In cultures at the Conservatism pole of the dimension, Schwartz (1994) noted that the person is viewed as embedded in a collectivity, finding meaning in life largely through social relationships, through identifying with the group and participating in its shared way of life. Schwartz (1999) noted that this value type emphasizes maintenance of the status quo, propriety, and restraint of actions or inclinations that might disrupt the solitary group or the traditional order. Exemplary specific values are social order, respect
Comparing the past to the present, one of the things that have not changed in the economy is the people’s love for money. Lots of money. There have been many attempts to further increase the amount of money that an economy or an individual can gain. Whether this is through ideas like welfare state where the government supports its people by providing things such as financial support or individualistic ideas like pursuing your own self-interest. The source provided wants all of us to believe that by supporting the ideologies of collectivism through welfare state, it will only result with us depending on the government instead of striving for our own success. The statement from the source, “The welfare state arose out of a misguided desire to
Hypothesis: “We hypothesize that the performance of individual members in such situations is likely to be highest when the members hold both individualist and collectivist orientations toward their work” (Hollenbeck, Humphrey, Meyer, Wagner, 2012, pg. 947).
People in American society have their own views about individualism in our country. They choose who they are and what they want to become in the future. Because of this, there are some pros to American Individualism. For example, Edgar Allen Poe was a poet who expresses how he felt within his poetry. His poetry was kind of dark and twisted and is actually a little bit confusing to understand. This is a good example of Individualism because he showed what kind of man he was and troubles he was facing through his writing. In his day in age people were not use to authors writing in such a style that he did. He would get judged pretty harshly, but it did not stop him from writing. In one of Poe’s short stories, “The Raven” the man was grieving about his dead wife. He went into a deep darkness mourning about his wife; wondering, fearing, and doubting about what had happened to her (Poe468). This explains pros of Individualism because he expressed exactly how he felt about her dying. He got to express his feelings without being put down. Being an American citizen he got to use his right of having freedom of speech, which everyone should not be afraid of doing. This shows collectivism because it showed how he wasn’t afraid to express his individuality even when numerous people were making fun of him.
In the recent weeks, I have noticed a trend in our cultural beliefs regarding groups outside of our own. As a nation, while the United States has a strongly individualistic nature from a personal perspective, there is also a strong collectivist belief regarding everyone outside of themselves and their groups. Rather than believing that each member of an external group is responsible for their decisions alone (myth of individualism), separating them from a collective (one bad apple), the consensus is generally geared opposite. For example, the belief that all immigrants want to steal American jobs, when one is not an immigrant, or that feminists are actually misandrists, when one is not a feminist. What I believe we have
The art of collectivism has been instilled in our minds since the very beginnings of society. For instance, in the Bible, Jesus Christ himself gave up his life on the cross for the well-being of those around him. Other verses in the bible contribute to the same idea that you should treat everyone as your family and do for them as you would want done unto yourself. “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because o...
“Altruism — the sacrifice of self to others. This tied man irrevocably to other men and left him nothing but a choice of pain: his own pain borne for the sake of others or pain inflicted upon others for the sake of self.” This dramatic definition of altruism, from The Soul of an Individualist by Ayn Rand, provides a backdrop for similar ideologies. Along the same philosophical vein, one can examine the principles of collectivism, a way of life that puts priority on a group instead of a single member. Individualism, on the other hand, is the complete rejection of these two ideas and a way of thinking that stresses living on one’s own terms instead of being dictated to by a group. As shown