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W06 Blog: Individualism vs. Collectivism (26/05/22)

 


Decisions. We all have to make them at some point, and these bring their consequences, no decision is free of them. According to the patterns within which we have grown up, decisions may have great or little importance within our social group.

According to Professor Ivers, " What is considered an acceptable choice to make in some cultures, might be considered a betrayal, possibly, in other cultures." For example, in Latin America changing political sides is considered high treason towards a specific group to which one belonged. Whereas in other countries it is considered a very individual choice.

Therefore, we can find societies that are group oriented and others that are individualistic oriented. In the first ones, there is a great respect for the collective good, decisions are not individual, but in an intricate way it must be considered how that decision will affect the group. In these societies, standing out is not the most important thing, in fact, in a certain way, similarity is sought among all. There is a Japanese saying that expresses this idea very well, " The nail that sticks out gets hammered down." While in the individualistic oriented societies, they seek to be independent, and their own welfare. To stand out and fight for one's own rights.

No culture or society is perfect. Each cultural orientation has its pros and cons. And instead of focusing only on the negatives to judge and recriminate them, we can focus on the negatives to fix them a little. Achieving cultural perfection is not realistic, however as Professor Ivers said, " At least we can be aware of some issues, and address them—maybe only in our personal lives—but if everyone addresses them in their personal lives, then, oh, society would get better little by little ".

Comentarios

  1. Tonya28 de mayo de 2022 a las 10:37

    Loved your post Valeria. There are so many things to consider in the classroom when dealing with different cultures and how they operate. I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ that has been teaching me my whole life how to love others. This helps my eternal perspective. But this class has helped me identify some of the differences that I don't know or assess in the wrong way. There's so much to learn!

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  2. Tatiana Cevallos28 de mayo de 2022 a las 12:51

    I agree that each culture has its negative side and that instead of focusing on the negative, we should focus on the things that we can fix. Very good arguments in your publication

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  3. Ana28 de mayo de 2022 a las 14:06

    One could argue that the United States has a selfish culture, and everyone is out for themselves only. However, this country is incredibly innovative. We encourage each individual to dream and pursue that dream. This is how the United States was founded. Because of this we, collectively, encourage everyone to make a great life for themselves. I like what you said about not every country is perfect and never will be. We can do our best to be good human beings to others and we will make the world better.

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