Appah 1

Patrick Appah
David Turley
English I Honors
25 May 2016
Individualism
The first duty of a man is to think for himself (Mart). Throughout history civilizations with
the most success are ones that are created around the will and personalities of the people. The
great Greek Empire had an abundance of success and prosperity because the people had the
power to pursue the areas of life as they pleased. Each citizen had the power to construct his or
her own pathway and find his or her destiny. With this said, in order for a society to prosper each
individual must have at least the opportunity to contribute to the community in his or her own
unique way.
One unhappy individual has the power to topple and destroy an entire system of society.
Humankind is a race built to compete and designed to be selfish. Thoughts, actions, and
emotions are contagious and quickly spread through communities, making it even harder for
things function normally. Forcing people to provide for strangers is not a reliable method of
trying to uphold a society. Everyone can understand why countries invite the idea of
communism. A society where everyone is equal sounds like a dream come true, however this
never seems to end up being the case. As we have seen in communist Russia, power always
corrupts. Russias rendition of communism quickly turned into dictatorship under the rule of
Stalin. This period in Russian history was not a very prosperous one. Stalins five year plans

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were widely unsuccessful and left the country no better than when it was under the rule of Czar
Nicholas. Russia is just one of many examples of a failure due to the anti-choice style of
government.
It is imperative that a community allows workers to have the freedom of choice based on not
only the well being of the state but also desire of the individual. A person in a collectivistic
society is passionate about animals but is needed by his society to be a factory worker. The
person did not choose this occupation and is in not passionate towards it, which would result in
sloppy workmanship. If the first part of that scenario sounds familiar, it is because the American
people are living that reality today. The core belief of the American government is that everyone
has an equal opportunity and freedom to make whatever they want of themselves. Putting this
system in place it has allowed America to achieve economic and diverse success. The law of
diversity is universal. All attempts to get humans to set aside their personal values and interests
for the good of the collective whole are futile (Reeves).
Many believe that a society should function based on the needs of the collective whole but
they neglect the fact that people have their own hopes and dreams. They forget that people do not
take kindly to deferred dreams. Those in support of collectivism believe that the decisions of and
individual should be geared solely towards the well being of their societal group or class. Though
so aspects of this claim are enticing, studies show that the making of decisions is actually more
important than the decision itself. The study states that making choices can strengthen
commitment, enhance professionalism, and can help individuals accomplish tasks quicker
(Latham). Self-interest is neither good nor bad, it is simply human nature.

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In order for a society to prosper each individual must have the opportunity to contribute to the
community in their own unique way. It is the duty of the people to decide who they will be. It is
their job to utilize their power as members of an individualist state to find what interests them
and then to pursue it. To conclude certain aspects of collectivism are good characteristics for a
nation to have, but a citizens first priority is to think for themselves.

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Work Cited

Latham, Ann. "12 Reasons Why How You Make Decisions Is More Important Than What You
Decide." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 15 Nov. 2015. Web. 19 May 2016.
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/annlatham/2015/11/15/12-reasons-why-how-you-make-decisionsis-more-important-than-what-you-decide/#a802d97febe1>.
Reeves, J. "The Uncanny Benefits of Individualism - Palm Beach Research Group." Palm Beach
Research Group. N.p., 29 May 2015. Web. 19 May 2016.
<http://palmbeachgroup.com/content/palm-beach-daily/the-uncanny-benefits-ofindividualism/15735/>.
Marti The first duty of a man is to think for himself.