Essay Sample on Collectivism

Introduction

Collectivism is ideally related to the collection, meaning the assembly of a group of things or a group of people. Collectivism, however, deals with prioritizing the needs of the groups or the society over the needs and opinions of an individual. Many times, collectivism is contrasted with individualism, in this case where the individual's needs and interests are put before those of the society and are more emphasized. The following essay, therefore, seeks to agree with the fact that collectivism can be useful for modern society (Kim 5).

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First of all, collectivism helps people come together to brainstorm ideas that are beneficial to the whole group and society and not just the single individuals involved. This means that essential projects like the provision of universal healthcare for the people in that society can be made possible. This, in turn, ensures that everyone in that society has access to good healthcare and it guarantees good health for everyone living in that society (Triandis 55).

Secondly, collectivism allows for every child in that society to go to school. In modern society some people are wealthy, and some people are struggling to get by every day. This means that such individuals cannot even afford to send their kids to school. However, in a collective society, the government ensures that it pays for the education of every student, regardless of whether they are from a rich or a low-income family. In the end, each child ends up benefiting from the school and not just the children of the people who can afford it (Schwartz 56).

Thirdly collectivism allows for the sharing of public resources reasonably. This means that everyone has access to parks, recreational centers, and even religious centers without any form of discrimination. Especially in the modern society, many people have grown more selfish, and they would prefer to have everything set aside for them separately. However, introducing collectivism into such a community would ensure that the resources mentioned above are always shared and used equally by every member of the society. Hence this guarantees that no one is discriminated against.

Conclusion

In general, everything in modern life relies on collectivism. This is because everything from the internet to the car that one drives is a by-product of a group of people working together to create something useful in society. Many people assume the importance of collectivism in modern society, and they take it for granted while in the real sense, without collectivism so much could be un-achieved (Stimson 23).

However, collectivism is not always helpful especially in a society where the needs of the individuals are entirely neglected, and the general outcome of collectivism in such an area is not beneficial. This means that people are forced to abide by activities that do not please them and they cannot do anything to refute that. For example, forced religion and racism in a society could be very harmful to individuals as they are forced to follow something that they do not believe in just for the sake of collectivism. In addition to that, war-torn countries that have embraced collectivism ensure that everyone is involved in the war, even the people who do not necessarily believe in the war (Triandis 78).

Works Cited

Kim, Uichol Ed, et al. Individualism and collectivism: Theory, method, and applications. Sage Publications, Inc, 1994.

Schwartz, Shalom H. "Beyond individualism/collectivism: New cultural dimensions of values." (1994).

Stimson, Blake, and Gregory Sholette. "Periodising collectivism." Third Text 18.6 (2004): 573-583.

Triandis, Harry C. Individualism, and collectivism. Routledge, 2018.

Triandis, Harry C. "Cross-cultural studies of individualism and collectivism." (1990).