individualism
4
5.3
- noun
- /ˌɪndɪˈvɪdʒuəlɪzəm/
:
individualismo
- Adopting individualism allows entrepreneurs to innovate without excessive government interference.
- liberal individualism
- democratic individualism
- extreme individualism
Examples
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And, you know, I think people who believe in individualism and liberty and free markets and free people thought that they had won that argument.
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What we fail to acknowledge is the way and the degree to which individualism was enforced by social conditions.
Academic text (1992) -
Gentlemen, now you can see... how dangerous individualism can be.
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On one hand, there is political individualism that follows from freedom and enhances progress and common welfare.
Academic text (2017) -
Commentators have noted tensions between American individualism and cultural rights in other contexts as well.
Academic text (1991) -
The critics of modern liberalism contend that it has brought forth a destructive individualism.
Academic text (1993) -
Basically, she argues that there are no downsides to individualism and no upsides to collectivism.
Blog text (32) -
Gratitude helps combat the hyper individualism that assumes that a person's successes are a result solely of their own efforts.
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Western criticism of allegedly destructive "individualism" has recently appeared in the writings of those thinkers designated "communitarians."
Academic text (1993) -
The reigning ideology embraces the primary goods bound up with individualism, capitalism, technology, bureaucracy, utility, competition, and success.
Academic text (1995)
Synonyms
27
8.8
Belief that people should have as much personal freedom as possible with little government control
3
8.3
A belief that government should not interfere with business activity
2
8.1
A belief that people should take care of themselves and compete with little government help
A political idea that values each person's freedom over rules from society
Antonyms
Compounds
2
8.1
A belief that people should take care of themselves and compete with little government help
How Market-Oriented
27
8.8
292
3.8
4
5.3
5
7.9
5
5.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
individualism = individual (transparent) = individual + ism
Standard nominalization from the base 'individual' with '-ism' indicating a doctrine, quality, or system related to individuals.
Etymology
Individualism comes from individual, made of in- 'not' and divide 'to separate', meaning 'one person', and the ending -ism means 'a belief'. So individualism can also mean the political idea that people and businesses should act freely and the government should not control the economy.