Critically discuss the movement from collectivism to individualism in Essay

Critically discuss the movement from collectivism to individualism in particular how it has been expressed in pay systems over the past 30 years - Essay Example Now we are told we must collectivize the nation because the people are so rich." -- William F. Buckley, Jr. Tribalism fueled the ideas associated with collectivism. At one time, there was no individuality, per se, except that which existed within the realm of the group or the whole. All that was done was for the good of all and all concerned. In laymen’s terms, what people thought of one another and how they interacted within their own undefined communities was all that mattered. This began to change in the late 1800s and early 1900s as group-think gave way to hedonistic self-preservation, or what is now known as individualism. A well-known Scottish hedonist and individualist by the name of John Stuart Mill, who was born in London, had a belief system that is still considered a standard in group psychology to this day. Mill was a self-described ‘socialist’ who believed that liberalism should advance the cause of individual freedoms and minimize state action, as opposed to what many believe today about socialism. Terms and usages of these different words and ideologies overlapped over time and many today believe that socialism is another word for â€Å"let the state (government) reign over the man,† which is untrue. Socialism’s purist term means that the state is the guiding hand in a partnership between the collective group and the individual citizen. The state is also held responsible, to some degree, for providing opportunities in which individuals can not only survive, but thrive. It took some time to ponder, but it appears today that ‘statism’ (or collectivism) a nd individualism are not necessarily always diametrically opposed to one another. Differences in intertwined ideals, philosophies and opinions define collectivism ‘as opposed’ to individualism, or benevolence (‘socialism’) versus self-love (‘narcissism’ or ‘hedonism’). The suffix