Individualistic Behavior Essay

The dangers of an individualistic mindset

Today’s society face many daunting world issues from global warming to social inequality, but which of these are the most threatening in our western culture? The biggest danger we face is the source of these problems. Our issues and the solutions to these have been negatively influenced by our new age ideology. The highly individualistic nature of western culture is the greatest hindrance to our ability to solve problems as a society. Separating one’s self from the issues of their community in isolated situations would likely have little to no effect on a large population; however, when it is common practice for a large majority of society to disregard the well being of others this can create large

From my own experiences I have found that people are much more comfortable with spending their resources, time and money, on themselves and those around them even for unnecessary, and sometimes excessive, indulgences. Consider what would first come to mind when you think of doing something for others, often times one of our first thoughts are ‘what is in it for me’. A 2007 survey revealed that around 64% of Canadians had made a donation to any cause in the past year and only 39% of people volunteered for one. Lack of money and volunteer work is one of the main obstacles that make many issues seem impossible to solve, and without the support of a large population a solution becomes very unlikely. Without volunteers working towards a solution time can turn

As mentioned earlier, finances are a large part of solving issues, especially in western society. We can see exactly how significant a stable economy can be when solving world issues. As mentioned, the medical industry is a perfect example of how putting one’s own interests above the wellbeing of others can worsen and even create major issues. The medical industry, like many businesses offering necessities, has made a sport out of borderline extortion. Companies have capitalized on the suffering of millions by pricing medical treatment and supplies at rates that few can afford simply because they can. This is a small example of how focusing on the individual can harm a large group of people, in this case forcing many to choose between poverty or death. A larger scale example of the problems being created by this behavior is the global economy. The economic state of many western countries has not been doing well in recent years and is largely due to the unbalanced distribution of currency resulting directly from the self supporting values society has come accustom to. We live in a society that values individual wealth over the wealth of a nation. This flawed teaching has caused our society’s economy to be run by the powerful for the powerful creating imbalances in the distribution of wealth due to the powerful only making up one percent of our population. This increases poverty