Image by Gerd Altmann from http://Pixabay.com

Individualism has been on the ascent across the world over the past few decades. Individualism per se is not necessarily bad. Individualism treats each individual as an independent entity and favours individual freedom over collective or state control. It encourages individuals to have a greater sense of self-responsibility and offers rewards more directly linked to their contributions. This empowering approach may well be responsible for some of the extraordinary achievements of individuals in the fields of business, science, technology and even sports.

However, I believe we have reached a stage where the balance between what’s good for the individual and what’s good for society may have tilted too much towards the individual. Fuelled by instant and disproportionate rewards for individual success in a capitalistic world, ‘I’, ‘Me’ and ‘Mine’ have taken centre-stage in our lives. The mantra of ‘winner takes all’ makes us self-centred. We instinctively perceive the world from a competitive lens rather than a collaborative one.

Books and media are a telling reflection of this cultural change. Scanning Google’s digitised database of over five million books, research has revealed that between 1960 and 2008, individualistic expressions like self, unique, all about me, I am special, and I’m the best have grown significantly. During that time, use of words like kindness, helpfulness, gratitude and modesty declined by over 70%. 

Effects of excessive individualism

Individualism becomes excessive when instead of acknowledging that Everyone is special, we emphasise on I am special. The ugly side of this shift is now on display in all aspects of our society. Excessive individualism divides society into winner and losers. As a result, depression is on the rise, particularly among the young. It only gets worse by spending time on social media where narcissism is on the up and respect for others on the down. Personal relationships are quick to fracture and marriages break routinely. With the intent to enhance their self-esteem, we overprotect our children, affecting their resilience and preparation for long-term happiness.

Excessive individualism has infected our organisational culture and even the geo-politics. Corporate scandals appear with great regularity reminding us of the lure of profits with disregard to the welfare of employees, customers or the society. A competitive mindset, coupled with self-centredness, has given birth to nationalistic policies, even through some of them maybe detrimental for the rest of the world.

This has long-term implications for our society and its future. Show me any deep social issue of our time and I will show you its roots in individualism. Climate change, income inequality, and refugee crisis are all exacerbated by, if not borne out of, the singular pursuit of individual success (as represented by an individual, organisation or the nation).       

Way forward

It’s time we started a rebalancing process to heal these wounds. A healthy balance between the individual and the whole! Imagine if your brain suggested that it’s the most important organ in the body and your stomach fought for the honour, who would win? Brain cannot function without the nutrients supplied by the digestive system and the stomach is dysfunctional without a healthy nervous system.

Neither the whole (be it our family, society or the planet) is more important than the individual (a person, organisation, or nation), nor vice-versa. What we need is to appreciate and celebrate their interdependence. This requires us to bring back the vocabulary and attitudes of kindness, helpfulness, gratitude and modesty that we seem to have been losing over the last fifty years. This can help us alleviate not only our personal anxieties, but also our collective strife. 

Rajiv Vij

https://rajivvij.com/2019/08/bane-excessive-individualism.html