JoshuaCieslik

Turley
English1Honors
19May2016
IndividualismvsCollectivism
Therehasbeenadebateforyearsaboutwhetherthefundamentalsofindividualismor
collectivismleadtoabettersociety,isitmoreimportanttoselfloveorloveothersbefore
yourself.ThedefinitionofindividualismgivenbyMerriamWebsteristhebeliefthattheneeds
ofeachpersonaremoreimportantthantheneedsofthewholesocietyorgroup.Whilethe
definitionofcollectivismprovidedbyMerriamWebsterisemphasisoncollectiveratherthan
individualactionoridentity.Puttingtheneedsoftheoverallpopulationbeforeeachcitizenwill
leadtoamorecopaceticsociety.
Chinahasthrivedasacountryusingthebasisofcollectivismtocreatestructureandlaws
tobenefitthegreatergoodofthepopulation,asopposedtoindividuals.Thegovernmentof
Chinaslawsregardingthenumberofchildrenacoupleisallowedtohavehelpedtheoverall
societybylimitingthedemandsforresourcesandalleviatingeconomicandenvironmental
problems.ThemajorityofChinesesocietieslikeHongKong,Taiwan,andSingaporewere
classifiedbyHofstedeascollectivismandthriveofftheidealsofcollectivism.Therearefour
elementsinChineseculturethatsupporttheideasbehindcollectivism.Theyconsistofrespect
forage,importanceofrelationships,friendsandfamily,andavoidanceofconflict.Thiscanbe
seeninseveralexamplesevenintodaysChinesesociety.Extendedfamilieswillcontributeto
payforonechildtoadvancehisorhereducation,inthehopeofbringingwealthtotheentire

family.InaChineseownedfamilybusinessthereisanexpectationthatmultiplefamilymembers
willworktomakethebusinesstheassuccessfulaspossible.Workingasafamily,asateam,puts
thegroupsneedsaboveeachindividualsneeds.
TeamworkisseeninthebookAnimalFarmwrittenbyGeorgeOrwell.Inthebooka
collectionofanimalswholiveonafarm,decidethattheywouldbebetteroffworkingasateam
togetridofthehumansandclaimthefarmastheirown.SimilartotheChineseculturethese
animalsputtheircollectiveneedsasagroupbeforetheirownindividualneedstohavethefarm
astheirown.Duringthestory,theanimalscapturethefarmfromMr.Jones.Jonestriestotake
thefarmbackbuttheanimalshadcomeupwithacontingencyplanincaseofanemergency.The
animalsofthefarmfoughtoffMr.Jonesandhismenbyusingtheirteamworkandbrainsto
defeatthem.Theanimalscollectivelyusedalltheirskillstothebestoftheirabilitiesforthe
betterofthewholefarm.
Despitetheevidenceagainstindividualism,manypeoplebelievethatasocialtheory
advocatingtheliberty,rights,orindependentactionoftheindividualismoreimportant,butthey
failtoseethatonlybeingconcernedaboutoneselfwillhurttheindividualinthelongrun.Ifa
manorwomanisonlyworriedaboutthemselvesinthosetimeswhentheyneedtheirfriendsand
familymosttheywillnotbethere,andtheywillrarelygetthesupportneededforabetter
outcome.Therearethosewhobelievethatanindividualcannothelpotherswithoutfirsthelping
him/herself,thissentimentissharedwithpassengerseverytimeoneboardsanairplaneIfyou
aretravelingwithchildren,orseatednexttosomeonewhoneedsassistance,placethemaskon
yourselffirst,thenofferassistance.Althoughaspectsofthisargumentareenticing,itultimately
failstobeastrongerargumentbecauseifeachpersonalwaysputtheirindividualneedsfirst,the

potentialforthefailureofoureconomic,political,andjudicialsystemsisarealisticpossibility.
Therewouldbeminimalsharingofinformation,extremelylimitedloaningofmoneytohelp
othersadvancetheireducationorbuyabetterhome,thecriminaljusticesystemwouldbe
overwhelmedbecausepeoplewouldfeeltheneedtocommitcrimestomeettheirneeds.There
wouldbelittleemphasisonvolunteerismandcharitablegiving,twoidealsthatmakethisa
kinderworld.
Puttingtheneedsofothersorneedsofthegroupbeforeonepersonsoranindividuals
needswillleadtoamorefruitfulsociety.Bycomingtogethercitizenscanaccomplishsomany
things,solvesomanyissues,andchangetheworldforthebetter.TheBerlinWallwasnottaken
downfigurativelyorliterallybyoneperson,cities,andfarmsarenotrunbyonepersonthereisa
communityworkingforitssuccess.AsahumanbeingwalkingthisplanetEarththereisa
wantingtobelong,collectivismstrengthensthesenseofcommunityallowingeachcitizensto
playapartinitsmovetoagreatergood.

FivethingstoknowaboutChinasonechildpolicy,CA:CBC.

Hkibs/wps/040001,andFebruary2001.THECHINESEATWORK:COLLECTIVISM
ORINDIVIDUALISM?(n.d.):n.pag.Web.

"FlightAttendantAnnouncementsGoodAfternoonandWelcomeAboardMay2016."
FlightAttendantAnnouncementsGoodAfternoonandWelcomeAboardMay
2016.N.p.,n.d.Web.19May2016.