Full transcript
0:00The A to Z of isms... Individualism.
0:05If someone called you an individualist,
0:08would you be flattered or insulted?
0:11An individualist might be a rugged John Wayne,
0:14a pioneer like Amy Johnson,
0:16a creative innovator like Kate Bush,
0:18or an entrepreneur like Richard Branson.
0:20People we admire for refusing to follow the crowd, for being true to themselves.
0:22But individualism is also often said to be
0:27the source of Western civilization's degeneracy -accused of leading to
0:32selfishness, shallow consumerism, the breakdown of society.
0:37Individualism is a double-edged sword.
0:40Many believe its Western roots go right back to early Christianity.
0:44Jesus taught that salvation did not depend on what tribe you belong to,
0:48but on how you chose to live your life.
0:51God had a one-to-one relationship with people, not to groups.
0:55The 16th Century Protestant Reformation took this further,
0:59taking away the need for priests to act as intermediaries
1:02between God and ordinary people.
1:04This sowed the seeds for the flowering of the modern individual
1:07in the 18th Century Enlightenment.
1:09The Prussian philosopher Kant summed up its key message in the Latin phrase
1:13Sapere Aude: dare to know, to think for yourself.
1:17Personal autonomy became the central value of Western society.
1:21We see this in the principles of one person one vote,
1:24civil liberties, and equal rights for all.
1:26But this in many ways welcome development
1:28has gone hand in hand with the decline of community.
1:32The growth of independence and autonomy
1:34leads to a decline in interdependence and solidarity.
1:37In other cultures these communal values have traditionally taken precedence.
1:42Across East Asia, who you are cannot be separated
1:45from the groups you belong to.
1:47That does not mean you lose your identity in the crowd,
1:51you find your identity in it: as a parent, a child, a ruler, a teacher, an apprentice.
1:56When we can all be different and yet all come together,
2:00we have harmony, the highest value in Confucian philosophy.
2:04Across the world individualism is lamented
2:07when it turns us into atomized units,
2:09cut off from each other,
2:10showing little or no interest in our fellow citizens.
2:13But if you can be yourself,
2:15while also being part of society,
2:17contributing to it,
2:19your individualism will be praised and celebrated.
2:27Thanks for watching. Don’t forget to subscribe! :)