Individualism vs. Collectivism

Question from the Internet:

“What is the difference between the individualist and the collectivist perspective? What are some examples of communities or societies that manifest these thoughts?”

In our world, we can see differences between individualist societies, like western societies and eastern societies or “less developed” societies, where there is a much stronger sense of community and togetherness.

Our inherent nature is 100% egocentric, self-serving, self-justifying, and individualistic.

Thus the more developed we become — regardless of culture, nationality, or belief system — the more egoistic and individualistic we are. It is not accidental, that at the end of the day, all “developing” nations or societies try to covet and copy the western model.

Human history is the chronicle of the ever-growing and intensifying human ego, so this process is unstoppable as long as we blindly follow our instinctive nature.

Thus in our world, we cannot see a truly “collectivist” perspective or system. Whatever way we live, we are all on the way toward the most individualistic and selfish form of existence, only for our own sake, at the expense of others.

And today we reached the state, where this addictive and reckless individualism is causing our own self-destruction.

If we want to see what “true collectivism” is, we need to look at nature’s finely balanced and mutually integrated system, or observe our own biological body, for example.

Only nature’s life-creating and life-nurturing systems act as a single collective, where each element most optimally fulfills its role and purpose for the sake of the whole system.

If we want to understand and solve our mounting problems, that started to threaten our existence, we will need to learn “collectivism”, and mutually integrated and mutually complementing existence from nature’s system.