Another way of looking at individualism

What does the word mean? To many, it has come to mean "I've got mine, screw everyone else. If you don't have yours it's your own damn fault." People of all stripes decry it as part of what ails us, but can we all agree that when it comes to individualism, there's a good kind and a bad kind?

The bad kind is pretty much summed up in the last paragraph. But extrapolation is necessary. It shows itself in members of sports teams who only care about their own stats, their own numbers, and don't give a shit about wins and losses. It shows in people who assert they shouldn't have to pay any taxes for education because they don't have, or no longer have, any children who are in school.  It shows in people who assert that they work their asses off for their income, so they shouldn't have to pay any damn taxes, especially when some of them go to people who, apparently, don't work as hard as they do (and they know this how?). And in some cases it has shown itself in people who assert that a Wendy's store manager should be able to keep non-whites out of that establishment because it's his own property to do with as he pleases. The type of individualism I'm describing here is summed up in the philosophy of Ayn Rand.

With that in mind, maybe the best word to describe this isn't individualism, but self-centeredness. Does that mean that individualism, in all of it's forms, should be shunned? I say no.

We humans are a social species, but we are not cogs in a machine. Sometimes when you hear people who rail against 'radical individualism' you're hearing what you need to, but at other times you're hearing someone who has an agenda - and that often involves exploiting people. An absence of any and all regards to individualism, or individuality, creates a stifling environment where not unity, but strict uniformity, is enforced. Dissent, questioning authority, etc. is not putting yourself above the group. Often it's necessary to prevent the group from disintegrating.

Collectives are strongest when they treat their individuals well.