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The Importance Of Individualism

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Many people look at their government and how it affects them on a day to day basis but do not see what it does to everyone at once. The government’s total authority over a country can vary from place to place, but they all make laws and rules that constrict their citizens in some way. Sometimes those laws can either have positive or negative consequences, which is dependent on the government’s views on how to run the country. Those consequences lead the country into one of two categories – individual or collective. The government sets boundaries for individualism because of the laws they put in place for its citizens, which ties them to either side of the spectrum of individuality and conformity.
Initially, understanding the scale of individualism and collectivism is important when trying to relate it to a government and its effects on people. Looking at this in a very broad manner doesn’t always clearly define it, however. In an article written by Carrie Rothstein-Fisch, this is explained through the education system. “In the United States, a country known for its history of ‘rugged individualism’, the dominant values include independence, self-reliance, individual achievement, and cognitive development.” She goes on to add that migrant students from collectivist countries have a difficult time adjusting. In this example, opposing ends of the spectrum meet, which fuses them together and creates a middle ground. To elaborate, the primary individualistic teachings of the

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