Let’s call our kettle black. The United States of America is one of the most infamous (mostly successful) individualistic societies in the history of humankind. That said, societies live on a many spectrums, one of which is this individualism and collectivism scale.
On the collectivist extreme, we see cultural values that place the group needs, wellbeing, value, and priority as the focus. Countries like Japan and organizations like New Zealand All Blacks or the US Navy SEALs embody this side of the spectrum.
On the individualistic extreme, we see cultural values that place self-actualization, personal growth, individual freedom, and priority of self as the focus. Counties like the United States and organizations like Netflix place greater emphasis on individual freedom and responsibility.
The first mistake to make here is to assume there is one correct orientation.
The most timely question to ask today is a question we must continue to ask ourselves, which is “where are we on this scale right now?” Once you ask this, the follow up questions that we need to take inventory on could be:
- What do we get by orienting this way?
- What are we giving up by orienting this way?
As a generally more individualistically oriented person, I think it’s important to notice my own complexity and desire for collective experiences and benefit. What’s available to us when we include more of the “other?”
There may not be a more unifying set of questions in today’s zeitgeist, political and beyond. Let’s keep asking!
