You click the “buy” button on Amazon. What happens now? You wait for your delivery. Your action involves both individualism and capitalism without you realizing it.
Individualism and capitalism are independent of each other. Individualism influences the cultural and political aspects of society stressing individual rights. Capitalism is the economic system fulfilling society’s desires emphasizing individual consumer choice. Culture leads consumer choices.
In this article, we will define what makes them different and similar.
Do they support each other?
We will address that assumption. Continue reading below to answer your questions about these 2 crucial American systems.
Systems of Organization- Relationships
In this section, we will give you a basic understanding of our 2 independent systems.
Individualism- A Cultural System
Individualism is an ideology based on individual rights and the self. It focuses on what you think and feel. In short, it is a social system of organization.
Who influences your feelings?
Culture controls how you feel.
Your friend groups impact your thoughts. You’re influenced by your atmosphere, and culture determines society’s standards.
Let’s say you wanted an expert analysis to further define individualism.
Who’s going to be the interviewee?
Your interviewees are sociologists and psychologists.
They specialize in how people act and feel and focus on the individual. Studies include groups of unique people or one person.
Having the ability to change people’s psyche- known as “hearts and minds”- yields unspeakable power.
Having the ability to change people’s psyche- known as “hearts and minds”- yields unspeakable power.
J. Liberty
For instance, how do you change a President’s decision? You motivate them to see your side. By grasping human psychology, your power of persuasion is immense.
Also, the U.S. system of organization centers around the singular human. And you are that person.
Individualism is a cultural system and the foundation of American thought. That’s it.
Capitalism- The Chosen Economic System
Individualists picked capitalism as the best economic system to represent their views. In other words, it is a by-product of individualism.
Capitalism is a free-market enterprise system. It encourages consumer choice and uses individuals as the system of measurement.
The 3 important fundamentals of capitalism are the following:
- Land
- Labor
- Capital
- A side note-capitalism receives its name because of the “capital”- or money- needed to start a business
Now, let’s find our economic whizzes like we found our cultural experts above.
If you interviewed economic professionals, who would you pick?
We all know you’d pick economists. They’re the ones who know how to control the money supply.
I’m not here to underestimate their influence. Money is also an important aspect of a civilization. There is truth to the old saying “follow the money”.
But people are emotional creatures. We ultimately will follow our passions over the money.
If you do follow the “green”, you’re still following your feelings. I assumed someone would bring up that argument.
Therefore, individualism is the controlling factor in America- not capitalism.
If you have a hard time figuring out individualism’s and capitalism moral code, check out my article Principles of Individualism.
Benefits of Both Working Together
We’ll discuss how they indirectly support each other.
Pick your Product-Individual Choice
You have a choice living in the United State’s capitalist economic system. Businesses compete to please you because your dollars are the prize.
How do you know what you want?
Some will say capitalists’ advertising determines what you want. In return, that means capitalism influences individualism. That’s not a valid argument.
Advertisers conform to what culture wants.
Individuals define culture through community influence and overall upbringing. Building culture takes time and generational influence. You don’t wake up one morning wondering how fast the culture changed before you went to bed.
For instance, my grandparents told me stories of hard living and the lack of common amenities in the early 20th century. This prompted me to save my money and ignore fancy advertising. My thrifty upbringing determined how I perceived culture.
My independence leads my thoughts and choices-not advertising.
In the end, capitalism provides choices for consumers like individualism. You’re able to read reviews of products you like. You have liberty.
But you must remember what determines your selections. If you let capitalism influence what you buy, you risk rampant consumerism. This means capitalism runs your brain.
It is acceptable to buy a fancy car or invest in a slightly bigger house if you can afford it. I’m making you aware of your choices and the factors shaping them.
Let individualism and personal responsibility be your guiding path.
Less Coercion-Even More Freedom
Like you, being forced to do things I don’t like is tough. I know I make the best decisions for myself. This means we like less regulation and more freedom. I’ll take that any day.
Promotes Competition Among Companies
I alluded to competition with the advertising example above. However, let’s explore a few other benefits of competition.
Companies compete for your dollars. Each convinces you their product is the best. Individualism supports competition among people like capitalism does with corporations.
They inspire innovation to create the best ideas and products to improve society. The ultimate goal is to prevent monopolies from centralizing power in different economic areas. Capitalism functions on a fair free-market system for it to function.
Both of our systems promote competition through decentralization:
- Individualism rejects central group thoughts known as groupthink.
- Power to individual thought
- Capitalism denies monopolies through competition between different companies
- Power to innovation and creation
“Redistribution of Wealth”
Wait! I know what you’re thinking. Capitalism doesn’t redistribute wealth.
Historically in your mind, redistribution of wealth occurs through heavy taxes and socialism.
Let’s think about this differently. Don’t always assume money with the pun above.
Individualism’s independent thought helps build and improve ideas. They’re recycled to improve our culture and society.
Companies of capitalism earn profits. Thus, they reallocate money to shareholders and more research and development.
Together they redistribute the wealth of knowledge and money. Wealth created by choice-not by force- is the goal.
Society needs less government when they’re wealthier from a healthy economy. Money flows from consumers to companies. Then you’re paid your salary from the job you perform.
Thus, “wealth is redistributed” voluntarily through a positive exchange of currency. You don’t need government welfare when you’re employed and have your own job.
Marxists always talk about the redistribution of wealth. LEARN MORE about their hatred for individualism. I encourage you to read my analysis.
Wheel of Capitalism by J liberty
Ideologies For and Against Our Contenders
We will examine the historical context of philosophers for and against our 2 systems.
For Capitalism and Individualism
Adam Smith published his book Wealth of Nations in 1776. Once Smith’s book appeared, it quickly became the “Bible of Capitalism”. He promoted the self-interest of the individual through his economic system.
Wealth of Nations is a fundamental read. If you want a better understanding of capitalism, this is a classic. Over 1100 pages, it is a formidable book.
Moving on…
What other important world event occurred that exact year?
~The American Revolution~
Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence promoted individualism.
When you think of America, you recognize the document we use to support our independence. But you aren’t as familiar with Adam Smith.
Again, this is another argument making individualism separate from capitalism. The public and your understanding of historical context inspire culture.
Together these documents represent an important part of U.S. history.
- Declaration of Independence– Roots of Individualism
- Free-Market of Culture
- Wealth of Nations- Roots of Capitalism
- Free-Market System of Economics
Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence promoted individualism.
J. Liberty
Against Capitalism and Individualism
There is always the other side. Familiar concepts represent the opposition:
- Collectivism
- Communism
- Karl Marx
In my research, one of the biggest discrepancies I found between the ideologies is:
- Who receives credit for the discoveries?
- Who owns the means of production?
Karl Marx gives credit to the group of workers. Capitalism gives credit to sole individuals for success.
For example, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are famous entrepreneurs. Musk started Tesla, and Bezos founded Amazon. In our individualistic culture, the entrepreneur receives the most praise.
Yet, Marx stresses that the entrepreneur is evil and should be violently overthrown. This mentality benefits no one. All you’ll end up is a world with no innovation and chaos.
If you want to read more about Marx, check out the Communist Manifesto and a series of books called Das Kapital.
Related Articles:
• Does Capitalism give back? LEARN MORE by reading article on Altruism vs Individualism.
• Government is a big part of your life. LEARN MORE about the case for Individualism in Government
Conclusion
You and I live in a system built on the ideology that individuals are supreme. Individualism is the fundamental system for American government, politics, and overall operation. Capitalism supplements the economic function of your United States of America.
Both our systems cater to our particular needs and desires.
Yet, they’re independent of each other. They’re examples of authoritarian regimes introducing free-market economies. And they believe in a culture of collectivism. Having your opposition institute your economic system proves they operate alone. Are our rivals shifting toward a personal-based society?
Competition among companies increases prosperity for everyone. It inspires decentralization.
We also explored who supports and opposes our systems on a basic level.
Overall, I only want to live in a system governed by individualism. It is the best structure to give the most liberty to you.
What are your thoughts on if individualism supports capitalism? Do you have anything else to add?
J. Liberty
References
Holcombe, R. G. (2015). Political Capitalism, Cato, J. 35, 41.
Lynch, K & Kalaitzake, M (2020) Affective and Calculative Solidarity: The Impact of Individualism and Neoliberal Capitalism. European Journal of Social Theory, 23(2), 238.
Photo Credits
