Collectivism vs. Individualism

As usual, the question of "individualism vs. collectivism" presents a false binary. These are terms not used much anymore, but in the early 20th century, it was a common framing (and often used to compare “free but selfish” capitalist countries to “controlled by unselfish” socialist countries). The assumption was we could have individual freedom or a commitment to communal welfare (sacrifice and find meaning in a collective cause “greater than oneself”). This appears to have been a false framing. We can have a political system committed to protecting individual freedom and then, with that freedom, have individuals choose participation in micro communities, such as family, church, and mediating institutions. A great error was assuming that freedom and collectivism were on a scale, rather than complementary, and that a political unit, such as nationalism, would be the “community” in which individuals would sacrifice and find meaning (through coercion). Ultimately, I think we should remain individually free so we can choose community good. Public individualism for private collectivism. A recent study referenced by Brad Wilcox gave support to this view, showing there was a correlation in well-being between individualism on the national level, but collectivism on the personal level. That sounds right.