RE: Socialism v Capitalism – isn’t it about time we changed the record?
Collectivism/individualism is nothing but a false dichotomy. There are aspects of both in most situations in life.
And these words need to be clearly defined, not coloured by personal assciations. Both collectivism and individualism are double edge swords.
If am in a group, I need to balance my personal needs against the needs of the group. If I lose track of other the perspective of other people I have taken the individualist perspective too far.
On the other hand, you can´t see things from the perspective of a group, because a group consists of individuals. So groups are abstract entities based on identification, and this is dangerous,because it opens up the possibility that people lose track of their personal perspective to further the groups interest.
Of course,the reason people work to further a group interest can be as selfish as a pure individualist perspective,as the group is satisfying yourpersonal needs for safety and a feeling of meaning.
In conclusion, it´s complicated.