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Individualism: Individualism is a political philosophy that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. It is often contrasted with collectivism, which emphasizes the importance of the group over the individual. See also Society, Community, Political philosophy.
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Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments.

 
Author Concept Summary/Quotes Sources

David George Ritchie on Individualism - Dictionary of Arguments

Gaus I 101
Individualism/Ritchie/Gaus: ‘Human beings in society,’ Mill claimed, ‘have no properties but those which are derived from, and which may be resolved into, the laws of the nature of individual men’ (1963b(1): 879; see also Bentham, 1987(2): ch. I, s. 4). Spencer agreed: ‘the properties of the mass are dependent upon the attributes of its component parts’ (1995(3): 1).
>J. St. Mill
, >J. Bentham, >H. Spencer.
VsIndividualism/Gaus: In the last years of the nineteenth century this individualist view was increasingly subject to attack, especially by those who were influenced by idealist philosophy(...).
RitchieVsSpencer: D. G. Ritchie, criticizing Spencer’s philosophy in 1891, explicitly rejected the idea that society is simply a ‘heap’ of individuals, insisting that it is more akin to an organism, with a complex internal life (1902(4): 13).
Hobhouse/Dewey: liberals such as L. T. Hobhouse and Dewey refused to adopt radically collectivist views such as those advocated by Bernard Bosanquet (2001)(5), but they too rejected the radical individualism of Bentham, Mill and Spencer.
>B. Bosanquet, >L.T. Hobhouse, J. Dewey.
Throughout most of the first half of the twentieth century such ‘organic’ analyses of society
Gaus I 102
held sway in liberal theory, even in economics (see A. F. Mummery and J. A. Hobson, 1956(6): 106; J. M. Keynes, 1972(7): 275).
>Liberalism.

1. Mill, John Stuart (1963b) A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive. In J. M. Robson, ed., The Ratiocinative and Inductive. In J. M. Robson, ed., The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, vols VII and VIII.
2. Bentham, Jeremy (1987) Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. In Utilitarianism and Other Essays, ed. Alan Ryan. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
3. Spencer, Herbert (1995) Social Statics. New York: Robert Schalkenback Foundation.
4. Ritchie, D. G. (1902) The Principles of State Interference: Four Essays on the Political Philosophy of Mr. Herbert Spencer, J. S. Mill, and T. H. Green. London: Allen and Unwin.
5. Bosanquet, Bernard (2001) The Philosophical Theory of the States and Related Essays, eds, Gerald F. Gaus and William Sweet. Indianapolis: St Augustine.
6. Mummery, A. F. and J. A. Hobson (1956) The Physiology of Industry. New York: Kelly and Millman.
7. Keynes, John Maynard (1972) ‘The end of laissez-faire’. In his Essays in Persuasion. London: Macmillan.


Gaus, Gerald F. 2004. „The Diversity of Comprehensive Liberalisms.“ In: Gaus, Gerald F. & Kukathas, Chandran 2004. Handbook of Political Theory. SAGE Publications.

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Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments
The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition.
Ritchie, David George
Gaus I
Gerald F. Gaus
Chandran Kukathas
Handbook of Political Theory London 2004


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