Ideas@TheCentre
Individualism does not mean being self-centred
The following quote from the National Aboriginal Health Strategy published in 1989 suggests that Western society’s focus on the individual is a bad thing:
Aboriginal culture is the very antithesis of Western ideology. The accent on individual commitment, the concept of linear time, the emphasis on possession ... the rape of the environment and, above all the devaluing of relationships between people ... are totally at variance with the fundamental belief system of Aboriginal people.
Working for a think tank founded on classical liberalism may mean we favour individual freedom, but we are equally concerned with individual responsibility. Without responsibility you end up with narcissism – and that is not what the CIS is about.
The entitlement mentality so prevalent today stems from an abandonment of personal responsibility. Increasingly, people are blaming everyone else for anything that goes wrong in their lives.
While people are taught to value themselves as individuals, society also encourages them to be victims. Human agency is not being given the prominence it deserves; instead, people are encouraged to believe that structural forces govern their lives.
Nowhere is this victimhood and sense of entitlement more apparent than within the Aboriginal industry. Aboriginal people are encouraged to view themselves as victims of colonial oppression and that government should compensate them with unconditional welfare, public housing, and so on.
To be fair, not everyone is dealt the same deck of cards, and society does need to ensure equal opportunities for all. Everyone in Australia should have access to the same standards of schooling and (relative) access to health care. Although parents should ensure their children go to school and encourage them once education has been provided, it is up to individuals what they make of it.
Those Aboriginal people with individual aspirations, who have acted within their own self-interest and gone on to higher education or employment, are now in a better position to help others in their communities.
Individualism is not about being self-centred but about recognising that you are responsible for your own actions and how your life turns out.
Sara Hudson is a Research Fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies.
