Individualism or Conformity?

[Imsmurter1]

I sometimes hear East Asian societies are based around conformity while western societies are based around individualism. But what is so great about individualism? The US is perhaps the premier example and yet we see loads of people on the streets living in filth and then another portion shooting neighborhoods or robbing stores. And then a third portion are just deadbeat rednecks with a dwindling quality of gene pool or tattooed weirdos expressing their “woke” new-age nonsense.

is this what individualism gets us? Meanwhile confirming societies like China, Korea, Japan have low crime rates and rapidly developing urban environments. Not to be too extreme about either side but it seems a conforming society often times just does it better.

Individualism is better

Conformity is better

I prefer Individualism but see the benefits of Conformity

I prefer Conformity but see the benefits of Individualism

[NamerOfStars]

"Conforming societies like Korea and Japan", eh? Well, let's take a look at the most collectivist society on the planet- Korea. No- NORTH Korea. How are they doing there? How were things in Imperial Japan? I'm not going to say those places only became good by embracing more individualist social ethics, but there's a REASON it took contact with the West and accepting its instruction to become what they are today.

What about China? Well, do you know what they build there? The world's largest shopping mall. One of them looked across the sea at our great temples to the Almighty Dollar, and decided "I'm going to make the grandest and most glorious one of those the Earth has ever seen!". In a Communist regime, that would get you jailed, or shot outright. Instead, the "Communist" party of China said "Good idea!". Then they build a nine and half million square foot mall, planning to cater to the 50 million or so people of Dongguan, ignoring the fact that most of them are basically subsistence farmers, or of the equivalent wealth, so it sits mostly empty, except for a handful of foreign anchor stores (which has to be GREAT for the national pride of the Chinese folks who DO go there).

The great rises to power and prominence only come when some degree of individualism is prioritized, even if it's only in the form of "make us money!".