Political Philosophy Of Individualism

Compiled by

Ahmad Reza Taheri

Individualism is about the idea that every man should know how to live individually i.e. to live independently. Under such a state every man holds a particular belief, which others have to respect and honor it. Such a condition was poor in city-state¹ era. In that era prestige and personality of every man depended upon his position and status and therefore not on his own individuality. The concept also means that no or less participation in social affairs as was usual almost to excess in city-state. Every one should know how to deal with others in a new way and in a new society that is larger and wider than the old form of city-states.

Individualism is the idea that the individual should be allowed to shape his or her own destiny, without having governments interfering and deciding on their behalf what is in their interests. Individualism is the opposite of totalitarianism, in which individuals are subordinate to the state. Individualism developed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries: the Founding Fathers all believed in individualism, which is enshrined in the Bill of Rights. ² However, individualism was already there in the history of political philosophy.

The free enterprise economic system is also based on the idea of individualism: if everyone pursues their own interests, the community as a whole will flourish. Individualism is also the belief that economics and politics should not be controlled by state. In political and economic philosophy, the doctrine, promulgated by such theorists as English philosopher Thomas Hobbes and British economist Adam Smith, that society is an artificial device, existing only for the sake of its members as individuals, and properly judged only according to criteria established by them as individuals.

Individualists do not necessarily subscribe to the doctrine of egoism, ³ which regard self-interest as the only logical human motivation. They may instead be guided in political and economic thinking by motives of altruism, ⁴ holding that the end of social, political, and economic organization is the greatest good for the greatest number. What characterizes such individualist thinkers, however, is their conception of the “greatest number” as composed of independent units and an opposition to the interference of the state with the happiness or freedom of these units.

Individualist tendencies or theories play a part in all the sciences that deal with a person as a social being. Although individualism would theoretically consider the state as placing an artificial restraint on a person's individual tendencies, practical distinctions between individualism and its antitheses, such as socialism, are often difficult to make. Like individualism, socialist or collectivist ⁵ theories may place high value on the well-being and free initiative of the individual. Individualism differs from such theories in asserting that the welfare of the individual is of the highest value and that each individual exists as a unique end, with society serving only as a means to accomplish the ends of the individual.

Notes & References

1. City-State, self-governing, self-contained urban center, usually surrounded by a small dependent rural area. The typical city-state of antiquity was the Greek city, such as Athens, which had complete political independence. Rome in its early days was a city-state. During the period from the fall of the Roman Empire to the 19th century, many cities of northern Italy, such as Florence and Genoa, were city-states. Several north German cities also functioned as city-states, of which Bremen and Hamburg retained some independence well into the 19th century. As a separate and autonomous political unit, the city-state cannot exist within an empire or a modern national state.

2. http://www.thevoter.org/glossary.php?word=individualism

3. Egoism is a doctrine or attitude that one's own interests are of greater importance than any other consideration or thing.

4. Altruism, devotion to the welfare of others. It is the English form of the French word altruisme created by the 19th-century French philosopher and sociologist Auguste Comte from the Italian word altrui, meaning “of or to others.” The word has gradually come into more general use. In philosophy altruism describes a theory of conduct that aspires to the good of others as the ultimate end for any moral action. In theories of ethics altruism is the antithesis of egoism (self-interest).

5. Collectivism, term used to denote a political or economic system in which the means of production and the distribution of goods and services are controlled by the people as a group. Generally this refers to the state. Collectivism is the opposite of capitalism or free enterprise, in which the means of production are owned by private individuals and distribution is determined by free trade and considerations of personal profit. The concept of collectivism is derived from the social theory holding that the interests and welfare of the collective group are of greater importance than the interests and welfare of any individual. As a political-economic theory, collectivism differs little from theoretical socialism. Modern revolutionary communism is a more extreme type of collectivism in which not only capitalistic enterprise but also most private property is abolished, by violent means if necessary. Communalism is a form of collectivism in which ownership of the means of production is vested in a smaller unit, the commune, with a corresponding reduction in the authority of the state.

Major source for this text was taken from: Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005. © 1993-2004 Microsoft Corporation.