INDIVIDUALISM

Individualism

Individualism

Introduction

Individualism is the moral, philosophical, political, ideological, or simply a social point of view that emphasizes "the moral dignity of man.” Individualists promote the exercise of their own goals and desires and as the independence and self-sufficiency as opposed to the majority of external interventions on personal choices, are they social, state, or any other group or institution. There is a great need for biblical counseling. The world is a world of sin, fallen from God's plan and paradise. Sin is rampant, although the Holy Spirit restrains the full effects of sin. This reality ensures that all of mankind, believers and unbelievers alike, will suffer through the ravages of sin and experience the need for biblical crisis intervention and counseling (Triandis, 2004, 88).

However, although suffering is very real, there is always hope of a perfect eternity after this life. Authors explain the “people live in a world of crisis and the biblical counselor must know how to guide others”. This guidance takes on two forms. The first and seemingly more immediate guidance required are guiding the individual through the crisis and returning them to a pre-crisis level of coping abilities. The second, but arguably far more important, is guiding the individual to a renewed state, or a first conversion, to Christianity. Saving a person's soul is a critical aspect of biblical counseling and should never be an after-thought (Seligman, 2005, 285).

Discussion

Origin and development of individualism

The first ideas of individualism emerged from the religion in the middle Ages. Specifically the concept of individual human soul and individual salvation is defined. These were the basis for more elaborate concept of individualism that we know today. These ideas were drastically changed in the industrial revolution. This new concept is closer to that of today but had to undergo a series of changes to reach its present form. In recent centuries, 20 and 21 took on individualism forces on many of the countries that had opted for collectivism over individualism changed systems as was the case in Germany and China.

These countries have passed and are still undergoing a process of adaptation to this new system. This because of the global economy that supports the capitalist systems of individualism but also by government failures to setting up the ideal of collectivism which in turn may have been influenced by the fall of the Soviet Union. These factors make the dominant ideology of individualism at present. Most countries in the world have adapted an individualistic system what makes the emergence of other alternative ideology. Although collectivism still exists in some countries such as Cuba (Moulin, 1955, 181).

Individualism

The term "individualism" has had broad usage, beginning with the writing of Alexis de Tocqueville in the nineteenth century. He coined it in an effort to explain the phenomena of American life. Since that time, various studies have confirmed what is perceived: that the incidence of individualism is higher in Western than in non-Western societies. We use the term here to designate the primary emphasis on the rights ...