Pour moi quelqu'un d'individualiste s'interesse d'abord à lui même avant de penser aux autres : il agit sans se preoccuper des conséquences de son action. Je trouve que pareil comportement, dans la societe actuelle, est très égoiste et ne peux fonctionner sur du long terme.

Mais je ne condamme pas entierement l'individualisme : on ne peux pas toujours aux autres, c'est évident. Seulement lorsque l'on parle d'individualisme cela veut souvent dire que l'on a atteint un certain degré "d'extremité" et dans ce cas je considère cela comme péjoratif...

Voili voilou ! j'ai donné mon petit avis de francaise sur la question ! J'espère ne pas me faire lincher ou quoi que se soit...! :-)

Clémence

I definitely understand what you're saying, but the concept is just different here. We strongly believe in individual freedoms and rights, etc. But that doesn't necessarily mean "every man for himself." We look out for each other's individual rights as well. For example, I know a lot people that aren't gay, but protest and rally for gay marriage. So, socially ... individualism is important for us because it's what makes you human. It's what makes you special.

Even economically we look at things as individuals. We have this idea of the "American Dream" which everyone person can accomplish if they work hard enough. It's inherent that they do it on their own (or as a family). It's a source of pride and accomplishment when we do something by ourselves. We praise each other when it happens.

And politically ... I'll just say that communist is still a bad word here on par with heathen or traitor.

Does that make sense at all? I don't think I should be answering this one :)

Je comprend ce que tu veux dire : si l'on considère les choses de ce point de vue, c'est vrai que l'individualisme est necessaire et positif.

En fait je crois que je regardais la chose d'un point de vue très négatif sans essayer de la voir sous un autre angle...

Clémence

I think that in the US individualism is felt to be more of the freedom to express ideas and opinions. Instead of "every man for himself" it's more of --every man and his ideas and personal opinions joined in a society with lots of other individuals (each with his own ideas and personal opinions). Freedom of expression is a big deal in the states. The problem arises when the boundaries are slurred between individualism and ignorance.

Sam is right---the word communism is still shrouded my sentiments of fear and hatred. The positive connotation associated with individualism might deal with the strong desire to never be associated with communism. Tell me what you think.

ce qui marquée en lisant vos réponse c'est le fait que les FRANCAIS définirait l'individualisme comme de l'égoisme car ici nous avons beaucoup la notion d'entraide, un exemple tout bète, "restos du coeur"vous connaissez?C'est un lieu où on donne à manger aux plus démunis...je ne dis pas non plus que personne n'est égoiste en france!! je pense qu'au USA INDIVIDUALISME=LIBERTE car comme le dit la notion de "self made man", c'estpar sa seule ambition qu'on peut réussir...pouvez vous m'expliquer vraiment pourquoi pour vous c'est synonymede LIBERTE...merci

elodie

It is possible that the association for the United States comes from our history and the American Revolution. At that time, we fought for our 'freedom' from Britan, to be our own 'individual' nation. So in our history, when our country was founded, we wrote a constitution based on those rights of individual freedoms, because that is what we had just fought so hard against Britan for.

I think it just became an association that stuck with the people in the US, as we seem to have lots of patriotism.

Does this make any sense? I'm sure other people have other ideas, but I think this is the basic reason americans associate freedom with individualism. It is about our history.

LAUREN

je me doutais un peu de vos réponse et je suis d'accord avec vous deux..je pensais aussi que votre vision fe l'individualisma comme liberté etait dû à votre passé et l'histoire de votre pays....

que penses tu de notre vision de l'individualisme?

ELODIE

If you honestly look at individualism, it's best defined as an appreciation for each person's specific characteristics. In the US, we believe that freedom to be yourself is important and necessary for living your own life, not being controlled by others. We see individualism therefore as preserving that freedom to be ourselves.

Love Always,

Jasmine

Why did a few of the french students choose the word 'sports' when thinking about individualism?

One thing I observed was that there were not very many words in common between the french and american students. It seems like both cultures have a very different take on the word. It is interesting because it would seem that France would have a positive connotation with individualism as they were involved in a revolution similar to ours, and have a similar history of independence. I could be very wrong though, so someone please explain to me!

La réfèrence aux sports s dus, je pense, au fait que certains sports sont très individuels (dans le sens ou se ne sont pas des sports collectifs...) comme par exemple le ping pong ou le badminton (lorsqu'ils sont joués en simple) ou encore l'escalade...

Clémence

I think that a lot of the disparity in meaning of the word individualism comes from different types of political-economic systems the US and France employ. Obviously, the french associate individualism with capitalism, and I think it would be fair to say that Americans have the same association. Only for Americans, individualism has positive connotations and for the french, individualism, capitalism, and egoism go hand in hand. Do you percieve American capitalism to be overly cut-throat? Is French socialism more effective in your opinion? Do you think it is egotistical for someone to want to be an individual, different?

Merci, Jen