The importance of Individualism

By Timo Schmitz, Philosopher

Every human-being wants to be himself, thats a fact. Everone faces moral or cultural
conventions that are considered good or bad in his environment, thats a fact, too. However,
self-autonomy and liberty is the most important. Everyone is to have the right to be himself
and therefore to act as he likes. This also applies to the case of moral conventions that often
depend on cultural bakgrounds. In some cultures, people are taught moral rules and values
that are completely different in other cultures, although we all are human-beings, and humanbeings are meant to be equal on the whole world. Therefore, it is against human freedom to be
told which clothes you have to wear and which food you must not eat. If a young woman
loves to dress in short pants and prefers to wear short shirts, there is no trouble at all since it
does not violate anyone elses right. However, in many cultures, girls are denounced for
dressing freely. In these societies, people who break the dressing conventions are often pulled
together with a terminology that is used to describe prostitutes or sex trade or even worse
animality which implies that he or she is of a lower rank. This inhumanity is often legitimized
with moral rules or moral values, but in fact it turns individualism into a cage. In many
societies people are said to develop themselves as they like to and that they have the right to
live their life in their way, but when people really do so, they are denounced with clichs or
their environment makes them feel bad. As it varies in every culture, we can sometimes see
that the moral conventions of several cultures living in one country are clashing. This is a sign
of missing individualization. Some people are said dont live like them denouncing others
with words that are to assume that the other group belongs to a lower class. The thinking in
classes however is very problematic. Its a way of ranking people connected with expectations.
Somebody from a low class is considered to have a vulgar way of speaking, while its a
scandal when somebody from a high class says an inappropriate word. This leads to the
conclusion that people are seen to have a different worth, which is against human equality!
Therefore, every society that consists of classes is culturally in some kind unfree, as long as it
ranks people and averts equality. A society where people have to think of what other people
thinks of them is not liberated. A society where people are not allowed to dress how they want,
to eat what they want and having relations in the way they want is not free! This also applies
to societies where it seems to appear only in parts of the society, for example in a class or an
institution. A religious institution that forces people on what they have to agree is in the same
way unfree, than a state institution in which people are not allowed to disagree to an opinion

Timo Schmitz: Individualism between Moral and Virtues, Government and Religion (Part 1)

-2-

___________________________________________________________________________
given by a higher rank. Therefore, all kinds of authoritarian totaliarism are against
individualism and therefore unfree. Every human-being should design his life as he or she
wants. This includes the right to make a mistake and even to repeat the mistake if it does not
hurt others. As long as others are not hurt or restricted in free action, the individual should
have the right to act freely. This also means that everyone has the right to live in his own way,
even if its against the morality of a society. Everyone has the right to believe what he wants
and also has the right to believe it the way he wants. So despite the right to make a mistake,
an individual has the right to correct his mistake whenever he wants and he also has the right
that his corrected view is accepted. No one should be killed because of sexual orientation,
unlawful relations or questioning a state system or religion. Every kind of caste or class has to
be abolished. Since all human-being are equal, there has to be only classless societies,
because self-development can only be guaranteed when the possibility of acting beyond a
class, a caste or a sex-depending expectation is ensured. Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi
already mentioned over 2,000 years ago that the world does not need any governing and even
should not be governed. So we can assume that every kind of governing is an interference in
human nature. If people are told what is good and what is bad they cant govern themselves
anymore. Everybody has to define himself what is good and what is bad for him, but as we
can learn from every religion, there are some conventions such as the prohibition to kill
people or the duty to act without solidarity and human kindness. The boundaries of
Individualism therefore have to be as basic as possible and anything beyond basic ethics is
individualistic. Laws should only be made to protect people (such as children, and prevent
crimes as robbery or murder). Therefore we can say that as soon as basic rights, peoples
protection and solidarity (such as taxes and social welfare) is exceeded, individualism is
endangered. Individualism is most important for everyone in the world. No one is allowed to
force you to listen to values or virtues. Virtues are limiting individualism on claiming to
develop civilization and cooperation within a society. But as it harms no one how you dress
and what you eat, with whom you go out and which music you listen or which films you like
be free to be yourself.

Timo Schmitz, 01 February 2015

This article is Part 1 of the series Individualism between Moral and Virtues, Government and
Religion. Reprinting for ones own personal non-commercial use is allowed.
http://schmitztimo.wordpress.com