A History of Individualism in The United States
From the very beginning, individualism embedded itself within American communication, history, and culture. Individualism introduced and maintained that independence, privacy, and competition are considered “virtues” in American communities (Jarolmen, 2020).
However, individualism and its influences have not been stagnant since the Founding Fathers. It has since progressed from political to economic to social individualism. Political individualism is based on the political ideology of classical liberalism with influences from notable Enlightenment philosophers like Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau (Stephanie M. Walls, 2015). Economic individualism surfaced during the Industrial Revolution in the latter eighteenth century. It produced a competitive rationale in American society that: in life, for someone to win, someone (or many) must lose (Stephanie M. Walls, 2015). The transformation of political to economic individualism “removed the element of self-restraint that has previously been a part of our social identity, it introduced a level of economic insecurity and instability that has not previously existed” (Stephanie M. Walls, 2015).
The modern model of individualism, social individualism, required the omission of social activity and obligation due to a mindset of viewing “one another as competitive threats who will inhibit their ability to meet their own needs and wants” (Stephanie M. Walls, 2015). The embedment of individualism in American socialization and culture has continuously operated as a mode to encourage competition, self-reliance, and personal achievement.
“Majority members of society certainly would benefit from empathizing with our less fortunate neighbors and reaching out with efforts to help provide the basics of life. An understanding and respect of cultural and ethnic differences would help with our polarized situation” (Jarolmen, 2020). The “polarized situation” of the United States is complicated by individualism because Americans do not view themselves as a group, only as individuals. Therefore, disinterest in healing or progress forms because it would not directly benefit a personal situation. This disinterest will only exacerbate many economic, racial, and gender inequalities within The United States.