Theme Of Collectivism In Western Civilization

Nelson Mandela said, “Our single most important challenge is therefore to help establish a social order in which the freedom of the individual will truly mean the freedom of the individual.” For centuries, there has been deliberation and controversy regarding the idea of individualism and collectivism. However, there are many instances in Western Civilization where there are themes of progression and of the individual holding priority over the community. People have their opinions and are entitled to them, however throughout the timeline of the development of Western Civilization, it can be observed that the idea of collectivism evolved from being an accepted way of living to now something that societies themselves will not promote.

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The theme of acceptance of fully collectivistic societies remained constant, particularly in Athens with their system of democracy and general commitment to their city-state. Thucydides, an Athenian general, made collective allegiance to Athens an obvious priority of Athenian citizens in his speech at a funeral to Pericles, an Athenian statesman. During his oration, Thucydides talks solely to remind the people that in the end, Athens and the “we-perspective” remain most important. He says, “We are free and tolerant in our private lives; but in public affairs we keep to the law.” Thucydides reminds his audience of the theme that individualism and freedom are allowed in private in order that they remain orderly in public, follow the law and put their country first – the most important

Cicero wrote this letter to his son and namesake and “intended it to be a manual instruction of practical ethics in which the abstract musings of the philosophers on virtue and the good life were transformed into actual rules of conduct.” The intention of this letter is to take ideas of Roman philosophers, along with the ideas of Cicero and compile them into a manual of rules for his son. Individualism is expressed in that philosophers all have different perspectives on life and this compilation is meant so that Cicero (the son) can live his life according to principles that his family agrees on, not the Roman Republic. There are no instances of the “we-mindset” in this letter, more of an “I, as your father, am passing these ideas down to you”. From the Greek polis system to the Roman Republic, individualism has not played a huge role in transforming each respective societies. On the contrary, we now introduce the Renaissance, a time-period that will transform human thought and