For judgements of value about collectivism and individualism, see individualism and collectivism. This article regards how 'collectivist' and 'individualist' are used descriptively in anthropology and cultural psychology.
Cultures are typically divided into two categories: collectivist and individualist. Individualist cultures, such as those of the United States and Western Europe, emphasize personal achievement at the expense of group goals, resulting in a strong sense of competition. Collectivist cultures, such as those of China, Korea, and Japan, emphasize family and work group goals.
Collectivism and individualism deeply pervade cultures. People simply take their culture's stance for granted. In the U.S., everything from 'self-serve' buffet tables to corporate structure to cowboy movies reflect the deeply ingrained individualism. In Japan, after a professor gave a lecture on individualist culture, the students asked the professor if what he said could 'really be true'.
Both collectivist and individualist cultures have their failings. People in individualist cultures are susceptible to loneliness, and people in collectivist cultures can have a strong fear of rejection.
Furthermore, the cultural components of individual and group behavior make themselves felt in the kind of civic behavior dictated by conscience and internalized ethical standards in the forms of law-abidingness adhered to by citizens and officials and in the character of the positive actions of government.
Party regularity is indispensable in the individualistic political culture because it is the means for coordinating individual enterprise in the political arena and is the one way of preventing individualism in politics from running wild.
Since the individualistic political culture eschews ideological concerns in its businesslike conception of politics, both politicians and citizens look upon political activity as a specialized one, essentially the province of professionals, of minimum and passing concern to the public, and with no place for amateurs to play an active role.
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