Politics Essay: Liberalism

Define individualism and explain its importance within liberal ideology

Individualism is the belief in the supreme importance of the individual over any social group or collective body. Methodological individualism suggests the individual is central to any political theory. Ethical individualism implies society should be constructed to benefit the individual. The primacy of the individual is the characteristic theme of liberalism and underpins most liberal beliefs such as freedom and equality.

As feudal life broke down, society was understood from the viewpoint of the individual. Individuals were thought to possess personal and distinctive qualities and each was of special value. The implications of placing such emphasis on the individual is that it draws attention to the uniqueness of each human being as individuals are primarily defined by inner qualities and attributes specific to themselves and individuals each share the same status in that they are all, first and foremost, individuals. Many tensions in liberal ideology can be traced back to rival ideas of equality and uniqueness.

Classical liberals view society as a collection of individuals each seeking to satisfy his/her own needs and interests. This is equated with atomism as society doesn’t exist but is merely a collection of egotistical, essentially self-interested and largely self-reliant individuals. This is based on egotistical individualism which places emphasis on self-interestedness and self-reliance.

Liberals are united in their desire to create a society in which each person is capable of developing and flourishing to their full potential. Therefore modern liberals have advanced a developmental form of individualism that prioritises human flourishing over the quest for interest satisfaction. This has been used to support positive freedom and qualified interventionism.