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Reflections on diversity
7 tendencies of individualism
Reflections on diversity
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1.0 Summary of the essay Democratic societies are held together by their solidarity although individualism sometimes threatens this solidarity. Individualism is closely linked to diminishing sense of common identity. Solidarity makes people living together understand each other and hence develop a close link which results to strong bonds. This was, for instance, witnessed in formation of Europe’s most successful welfare states. The diversification of populations poses a great challenge to intense solidarity. There are however two ways to maintain solidarity: hark back to older modes as applied by France or redefinition of identity. While the first method is both ineffective and counterproductive, the second one’s major tasks are to calm fears …show more content…
This has resulted to the feeling by the majority that they are being ignored: they are not given chance to express their ideas. Solidarity is based on the freedom of expression as is the democracy and hence lack of thus freedom is a great threat to solidarity as it will create division among different groups and people. It should be noted that freedom of expression has also been abused by many to insult others as opposed to bringing people together. The author ignore this fact in the analysis. This has, in many times, led to Government restriction of what can be said prompting some human rights groups going into streets to …show more content…
Individualism is a social theory favoring freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control. It has been the center for failed solidarity in many nations around the world. Corruption deeds by political leaders around the world is a form of individualism. This has created division between the leaders and the common citizens. It has indicated some kind of lack for “All for One, and One for All” theorem where the leaders do not care about the common citizens. They only think about themselves and their success. This has threatened the sense of belong and hence threatening solidarity. Accusations between different religious groups around the globe has been a manifestation of deteriorating solidarity among people. Accusations and counter accusations have been witnessed between Christians and Muslims, for instance. All people were created by God, so why such divisions of ideas within religious groups? All religious teachings upholds the theory of brotherhood and sisterhood. If followed with respect, the solidarity will be promoted, but this has not been the case. This contradicts “All for One, and One for All” believe as applied in the promotion of solidary as a basis of
“Political corruption is the use of power by government officials for illegitimate private gain.” This can lead to the downfall of societies because when citizens find out, they won’t have any respect for their government/leaders because of the bad things they do. Lack of respect can cause riots/outbreaks in cities.
Noah Miller English Honors: D Ms. Hiller 13 December 2013 1984 Major Essay Assignment. Individualism is the one side versus its opposite, collectivism, that is the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. When put into a collective whole, one might do for the whole more than one does for oneself.
The reason why corruption has become a global problem is because it’s rational to be greedy or wanting for more but soon after it gets out of control and then there is a corrupted person who in order to change would have to step down from power and become a person who doesn’t control.
Individualism from the transcendentalist era is very different then it is in the modern day. In the transcendentalist era, everyone believed that the person is more important than the society. You see this in self reliance where Emerson says “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events” (Emerson par. 3). In this quote, i believe the emerson is saying that you know what's best for yourself and you should follow your heart, but society is always going to try to tell you something different. In the modern day, people rely more on the
“Individualistic cultures, in the western-hemisphere, [such as the United States,] emphasize… personal identity and self-determination. Conformity is far less pervasive in individualistic societies because democratic choices and laissez-faire viewpoints are somewhat considered.”
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
Opponents of the collectivism idea say that there is no room for individuality when a society conforms. Individualism is the idea that the individual’s life belongs to him and that he has an inalienable right to live it as he sees fit, to act on his own judgment, to keep and use the product of his effort, and to
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.
Individualism in today’s society is the “belief that each person is unique, special, and a ‘basic unit of nature’.” The individualism concept puts an “emphasis on individual initiative” where people act independently of others and use self-motivation to prosper. The individualists “value privacy” over community the individual thrives to move ahead in life (U S Values).
The notion of individualism is extremely important in exercising the duty people have to cease from the...
I never even thought about this word “individualism” before I came to America. Instead of collective, normal is the way I considered as my culture, and for American culture, I would say they are selfish and unkindly sometimes back then. However, after my 2-year study here and all the research I’ve been read for this paper, now I say that neither individualism nor collectivism is purely bad or good.
Individualism prevents unity of a community because an individualist has a mindset of self-love which can led to the corruption of order. In federalist paper #51, Hamilton states “if men were angels, no government would be necessary.” and “you must first enable the government to control the governed.” Meaning if men where perfect no government would be needed but since humans have the tendency to have a big ego they must be a governed. Individualism must be controlled by the people’s dependence of the government which individualism lacks. On the other hand, Traditionalist believe in order and being controlled by a higher government which makes it much easier for stability. The moralist political subculture motives are public interest and believes in the common good which is best for engaging in unity with each other. These are the two things that individualist cultures
Known as a period of political scandal, many politicians engaged in bribes, lies, and abuse of power to further a political, social, and often personal agenda. The typical corrupt leader "will sell his vote for a dollar [...] turns with indifference from the voice of honesty and reason [...] his unalienable right may be valuable to him for the bribe he gets out of it" (166). Such politicians are an injustice to society because as they are elected by the people, they must act towards the betterment of the people, rather than for themselves. Furthermore, those who elect this politician to office merely underestimate their political and social responsibility because they "want the feeling that their own interests are connected with those of the community, and in the weakness or absence of moral and political duty" (167). Thus, under the control of the ruthless politician and the reckless voter, the true essence of democracy is
Some people said that corruption is rampant in all governments, So that it is not unknown to any ethnic group, region and continent. It cuts across faiths, political systems, religious Denominations and affects both young and old people. Fraud can be found in public and authoritarian rule;...
The information provided in this lecture describes individualism as social patterns that involve an individual’s priority for self motivation, self confidence, self oriented, and self competent, self responsibility. Collectivism also involves social patterns, however collectivism involves individuals who are collective, which means these individual prefer to be a part of some type of group. These groups may be internal or external.