The - Individualism - in - American - Culture

姓名：何方勤 学号：10410404022 班级：2010级（4）班

The Individualism in American Culture

HE Fangqin

Abstract:Individualism is the very core of American culture and the main value in

America.We can say that individualism has been influencing all the fields of politics,economics and society,even the character of the nation. The self--reliance, Individual freedom, equal competition which are emphasized is different from the concept of individualism in China.individualism becomes in the popular mind the very essence of what being an American means. In this course we will examine with a critical eye the philosophical basis and social consequences of the primacy of the individual in American intellectual, legal, and political traditions.

Key words:individualism ;Individual freedom;American means

I. Introduction

Individualism is perhaps the primary concept that, transcending such categories as race, gender, class, age and region, unites Americans across time and space to give coherence to the national experience. From the earliest beginnings of the republic to the post-modernist present, the rights of the individual citizen and his or her place in the scheme of things has been of primary importance to American philosophers, artists, political theorists, theologians and others concerned with articulating national values and principles. Communitarian ideas rise from time to time to challenge individualism, but none have yet been successful in seriously weakening its hold on American culture.

I. Individualism ---- The Core of American Culture

In the United States, people always worship different kinds of heroes. Some heroes, such like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin really existed in reality, while others only live in fictional stories and films, for example, the cowboys in Western films. Every hero admired by Americans has some respectable qualities ---- bravery, courage, diligence, honesty and so on, but all of them have something in common. That is they are all successful individuals.

In contrast, in Chinese culture, “individualism” refers to something negative, which is very similar to selfishness. It’s noted that Chinese people also worship heroes, and the concept of “hero” in Chinese culture is different from that one in American culture. For instance, Lei Feng, an ordinary soldier, has been regarded as a perfect

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hero since 1960s. It’s hard to say he really made great achievements as a soldier. But he served the people heart and soul. As a soldier, he used to be responsible; as an ordinary person, he used to willingly help anyone in trouble and never show off. And in the end, he sacrificed himself on duty.

While comparing the Chinese heroes and American heroes, we will find they share many good qualities of human nature. At the same time, the differences between them, or what we can learn from them, reflect the differences between Chinese and American values. Chinese people tend to emphasize the power of unity. As a result, a typical Chinese hero should be a selfless person, devoting all his energy, money and time to the unity. His own success and the support of the unity cannot be divided apart. In contrast, most American heroes build up from nothing. They realize their dreams by mainly depending on their own ability, wisdom, courage and hard work. In other words, American heroes have charismas and outstanding abilities. Because they themselves are successful individuals, they can lead and help others. The success of American people results from the success of each individual. Unlike Chinese, Americans stress the consciousness of individual instead of the concept of unity in Chinese values. And the consciousness of individual, the individualism, is the core of American culture.

II. Two Main Aspects of Individualism in American Culture

1.Americans Believe An Individual Can Save Himself

As an old Chinese saying goes, “A person can depend on his parents while at home, and he can depend on his friends after leaving home.” In daily life, the success of Chinese people is closely connected with the support of relatives, friends and colleagues, which reflect the Chinese values in some way. On this matter, Americans hold completely different opinions. They believe themselves, and they firmly believe they themselves can decide their own destinies and save themselves.

The Puritanism, which had profound influences on American culture, set the solid foundation of American individualism. According to Puritanism, everyone is born with the original sin, and it is the human nature that causes a person makes mistakes throughout his life. Consequently, it’s vital for human to free from the sin in life. And being successful is the symbol of being a person blessed by the God. How to succeed? Hard work is the best solution to this problem. And only oneself could become the savior for an individual.

This kind of value, which is only he himself, could become the savior for an individual influenced the Americans generation after generation. Benjamin Franklin, which is called “The 1st American”, is the brilliant model for American people. His values can be called “Pragmatic Individualism”. Franklin was born in an ordinary family. Without normal education, he became a knowledgeable person, a scientist and an excellent statesman. The key points for Franklin’s success are his own diligence and thrift instead of relying on family. He also firmly believed that everyone should be born equal and every American would enjoy equal opportunities to realize his own dreams.

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2.The Value of Individual ---- The Power of Individual is Limitless

When Henry Kissinger was the American Secretary of State, an Italian journalist once asked him why he enjoyed extraordinary status like a movie star. Kissinger answered that he could enjoy this status because he used to solve problems alone. And Americans admire his personal style, or a kind of spirit. This spirit is “the cowboy spirit” in American Western films. Kissinger’s actions showed he himself stood for the cowboy in American foreign policies. He alone visited USSR, negotiating with Russian leaders to solve world affaires. And He went to China in secret, established the beginning of a new stage of Sino-American relationship. It seemed that he could affect the whole world by using his own power, so it’s obvious to understand why Kissinger regarded himself as a cowboy.

In Western films, a typical cowboy should be a stout and muscular man, gun with himself, riding on a horse, and galloping across the vast plain or desert. Their major task is not to graze cattle, but to fight against the evil and protect American values. Cowboys are the representatives of ideal Americans and American heroes. In the later part of the 19th century, the Americans pushed the frontier westward. During this process, the American culture came into being. The American democracy, the American culture, and American character are born in the West. And a cowboy’s destiny in Western films is to protect the American culture appearing in the West.

The cowboy’s character can be reflected by 3 symbols. The first one is gun. Every cowboy is a sharpshooter. His gun stands for bravery and power, and is the arm protecting the American culture. The second one is his horse. All cowboys riding on horseback freely moved from one place to another. Without horse, without cowboys’ individual freedom. Hence, the horse refers to freedom. The third one is bar in towns, where evildoers commit crimes and cowboys fight against them. In a word, the nature of frontier individualism is the limitless power of individual. Individual can conquer the nature, establish civilization, defeat the wicked, and defend civilization.

It should be noted that the relation between cowboy, the individualist hero, and the society is very complicated. Cowboys are always lone fighters, while their abilities are only fully displayed in the struggle of fighting against evildoers and helping the people.

To make a conclusion, the main purpose of Western films in America is to propagate the limitlessness of individualism, and praise individualism that focused on individualist heroes.

III. Dual features of Individualism

Individualism emphasizes that personal dignity should not be offended, and the supreme status of personal interests. As a result, we should regard individualism in an objective and balanced way. On the one hand, individualism is not equal to selfishness. On the other hand, the two things are also related to each other in some way. When individualism goes to extremes, it will turn into selfishness. In a democratic society, individualism may destroy social virtues, and combine with thorough selfishness. In

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recent years, violent gunshots occasionally took place in American campuses. In these cases, teenagers became cold-blooded killers. This is the worst fruit of extreme individualism.

For me, a graduate major in American society and culture, it’s inappropriate to give a total and uncritical acceptance to individualism or totally repudiate individualism as we did in 1950s and 1960s. With the development of globalization, the understanding of individualism will be more balanced and objective.

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References

[1]. Axelrod, Alan: Complete Guide to American History. New York: Macmillan Press, 1999.

[2]. Davis, Linell, Cross-Cultural Communication in Action. Beijing: Foreign Languages Teaching and Researching Press, 2001.

[3]. Qi, Xiaoxin, Introduction to American Culture Studies. Beijing: Peking University Press, 2001.

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