Individualism

Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, and social outlook that emphasizes the worth or central role of the individual. Individualists promote realizing one's goals and desires, valuing independence and self-reliance, and advocating that the interests of the individual should take precedence over the state or a social group, while opposing external interference with one's interests by society or institutions such as the government. Individualism focuses on the individual and thus starts "with the fundamental premise that the human individual is of primary importance in the struggle for liberation".

Individualism represents one type of sociocultural perspective and is often defined in contrast to other perspectives, such as communitarianism, collectivism, and corporatism.

Individualism is also associated with artistic and bohemian interests and lifestyles, which tend toward self-creation and experimentation rather than tradition or popular opinions and behaviors, and it is also associated with humanist philosophical positions and ethics. "Individualism" has also been used as a term denoting "The quality of being an individual; individuality", related to possessing "An individual characteristic; a quirk".

Etymology

In the English language, the word individualism was first introduced as a pejorative by utopian socialists such as the Owenites in the late 1830s, although it is unclear whether they were influenced by Saint-Simonianism or developed the term independently. A more positive use of the term in Britain emerged in the writings of James Elishama Smith, a millenarian-turned-socialist and Christian Israelite. Although an early follower of Robert Owen, he eventually rejected Owen's collective conception of property and found in individualism a "universalism" that allowed for the development of the "original genius". Without individualism, Smith argued, individuals cannot amass property to increase their happiness.