Individualism carries significant importance within society and has been an essential idea used in politics for many centuries. It is a popular and widespread concept, but one that is regularly misunderstood. The true meaning of individualism varies, depending on who you ask. In this post I will make sure you the reader are clear on what the concept of individualism is and what it truly means.

The concept of individualism is that the individual is the centrepiece of society. It emphasises the intrinsic worth of the individual over the wider collective. Individualism produces a free society where the individual has more power and rights.

The 6 Principles of Individualism

There are 6 main principles regarding the concept of individualism. They are listed as follows:

• Economic Freedom
• Private Ownership
• Self-interest
• Self-reliance
• Competition
• Individual rights and freedoms

Economic freedom refers to the idea that the individual is free to earn a living in whichever way they choose. They can choose what field they want to work in, the type of role they wish or even whether or not they want to set up their own enterprise. This is crucial as the individual has full control over this. The state cannot intervene. 

Private ownership is an important economic element of individualism. It means that assets are privately owned by individuals, rather than the state. This gives more economic power to the individual and is based on the idea that the individual has a better idea of how to utilise assets rather than the state.

Self-interest refers to the idea that the individual is essentially free to live their life in a manner which best benefits themselves. The individual will almost always have a better idea on how to live their own life than the state.

Self-reliance can practically be summed up as personal responsibility. In an individualistic society, the state doesn’t intervene as often. This means the individual is responsible for taking control of their own lives and securing a living for themselves.

Competition is how individuals compete against one another in the marketplace. A competitive economy is one that spawns innovation and benefits the consumer overtime. It is an essential idea of individualism and one that has immense benefit for society. 

Individual rights and freedoms are crucial to making sure the state doesn’t have any authoritative power over the Individual. It ensures the individual is liberated from any discrimination or coercion from the state. 

These 6 main principles are all crucial to the concept of individualism.

Freedom

A value at the core of the concept of individualism is freedom. It is the idea that citizens of a democracy are free from any oppression or coercion from the state. Freedom is important as it gives more power and opportunities to the individual, whilst disallowing the state to interfere with their lives. If implemented correctly, freedom always leads to a happier and more prosperous society in the long run. 

Freedom is crucial in ensuring all the values of individualism are met. It gives more power and rights to the individual, and prevents the state from getting involved in individual affairs. This is essential to the concept of individualism, as advocates of individualism always put freedom and benefits of freedom at the top of the list for arguing why individualism is such a beneficial concept. Freedom allows for private ownership and a free market which spawns competition. These three things help boost the economy, the productivity of the population and therefore the wealth and standard of living of each individual.

Freedom allows the individual to explore their own self interests, and take responsibility for how they go about life and their living situation. It helps eliminate corruption from the state, as the state under a free and individualistic society is less involved. It secures essential rights which are all at the heart of individualism, such as: Freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom to earn, freedom to learn, freedom of choice, freedom of location and freedom of opportunity. Hence why freedom is quintessential to the concept of individualism. If you want to go more in depth on the topic of freedom, click here.

Personal Responsibility

Another value that is paramount to the concept of individualism is personal responsibility. Personal responsibility means that the individual is responsible for the choices they make, how they want to live their lives and their quality of life. As mentioned earlier, individualism puts a heavy emphasis on freedom, putting less reliance on the state. While this has many benefits, less reliance on the state means the individual has more responsibility and has to take more ownership and accountability of their own lives. 

Personal responsibility means the individual is responsible for how they decide to live their lives. The choices they make, the career or job they choose, how they wish to spend their capital, where they live, who they choose as a partner, whether they have a family or not and how they spend their free time. The individual has to weigh up the pros and cons of every decision they make, and be wary of any opportunity costs they could incur. If the individual grows to great heights and lives what is deemed to be a successful life, then they have reaped the fruits of their own labour and deserve everything they have. If life goes south, then they have to take ownership of their choices, as frustrating as it may be. The advantage of individualism and personal responsibility though, is that even if you do fall you can start making the right choices, get back up and rise to great heights.

Personal responsibility is a very useful value to have at the heart of society. This is because a society that preaches personal responsibility is one that is made up of individuals who are accountable and make good choices. The more good choices individuals make as a whole, the better off society will be. These choices will look different for each individual, as everyone has their own strengths, weaknesses and life story. The individual will always have a better idea of how to make choices that benefit their own lives more than the state. This is why personal responsibility is a value at the heart of the concept of individualism. 

Summary

The concept of individualism is that the individual is the centrepiece of society. It emphasises the intrinsic worth of the individual over the wider collective. Individualism produces a free society where the individual has more power and rights.

The 6 principles of individualism are:

• Economic freedom
• Private ownership
• Self-interest
• Self-reliance
• Competition
• Individual rights and freedoms

All 6 principles play a crucial role in the concept of individualism. They all carry massive advantages for the individual, the economy and society as a whole.

Freedom is one of the core concepts of individualism. Freedom is paramount to ensuring the individual has more power and rights. It ensures the state does not interfere in personal matters and liberates the individual from any state imposed oppression and coercion. Freedom is a value that benefits society immensely, and is one of the main reasons why the concept of individualism is so attractive. 

The concept of individualism brings with it the value of personal responsibility. Personal responsibility means the individual is accountable for the choices they make and must take ownership of any situation. Personal responsibility makes the individual more competent and successful over time, leading to a better and more prosperous society.