Debate Night: Collectivism

In a collectivist society, the core unit is the collective group. This is in contrast to in an individualistic society, where the core unit is the individual person. No society goes entirely into one direction or the other, but instead exist on a sliding scale where the needs of the group or the needs of the individual come first more often. Collectivist societies are associated with harmony, cooperation, and a tendency to think from a holistic framework where things hang together. Individualistic societies are associated with freedom, personal responsibility, and a tendency to think from a distinguishing framework where things are viewed separately. Both also come with their drawbacks. Collective societies can be rigid and unforgiving to those who deviate from the collective norms, even if those people are not harming anyone. Individualistic societies can be isolating and unforgiving to those who do not manage their own success well.

The Dutch sociologist Geert Hofstede proposed the idea of collectivism and individualism as existing on a sliding scale as part of his cultural dimensions theory. When mapped onto countries of the world, we see that collectivism is the default orientation in much of the world, with individualism primarily being dominant in Western Europe, North America, and other parts of the Anglosphere. A classic example of an individualistic culture is the Netherlands, a classic example of a collectivist one is Egypt. While collectivism is more strongly associated with developing countries, this is not strictly true; South Korea and Japan are culturally closer to collectivism despite their economic status. Individualistic developing countries are much rarer however, with only a few exceptions like South Africa making the list.

While Europe is arguably the most individualistic part of the world, it is suffering from many of the drawbacks of that individualism too, such as loneliness, a lack of civic spirit, and disorientation about where to go. As a result, one can start wondering whether a shift to a more collective mindset would help European society at a moment of directionless.

Motion: This House believes that a shift to collectivist thinking will help alleviate Europe's problems

This debate will follow a British Parliamentary format with eight debaters split into four teams of two.

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