Moving from China to UAE, one of the biggest changes I noticed is that I went from a collectivist culture to a more individualistic one.
In China, harmony of relationships is very important, it is important to consider everyones perspectives, and the culture is more of a group. I found that when I moved to a more individualistic culture, that it was necessary to be more individualistic. In some way you could say, I should be more myself. I should express to others what I think and feel more, regardless of how that will impact others. To express what I want, and to be more true to myself. It’s necessary to be more assertive, and sometimes by being more individualistic you may fear that you will upset others, but they can deal with it, and this is expected. If you don’t, then you are not going to get your needs met.
To go the other way, from an individualistic culture to a group culture, the group will be more concerned with taking care of your needs more. You will be less expected to upset others or show yourself to the group. You will get your needs met, through the success of the group.
But western culture isn’t purely individualistic. Humans can operate on multiple levels like this. We can be more individualistic, but we can also become a part of a larger unit, such as tribe, family, sports team, company, or sports fans, or country where we forget our individual interests for the benefit of the group. There are advantages to operating on different levels like this. As a result, the group is able to operate far more effectively, and the individual can get their needs met this way.
I don’t think either is better, it’s just a different perspective. In a more individualistic culture, you are more likely to know what everyone thinks and feels, but in a more collectivist culture, in some way it doesn’t matter, the group as a whole, can operate more as a unit.
It’s possible that there is this difference between Chinese and British culture because of our geography. China is huge. Britain has is a far smaller island. With such a larger number of people, perhaps the most successful mindset for the geography in China was one that was able to act more cohesively, and conquer the more individualistic tribes. In Britain, a more individualistic and defiant group of Scots can rebel and hide in the mountains. Also it may just come down to the sheer numbers. As an individual in Britain, a country of 67 million people, we can have far more impact on society and those around us, than in China with 1.3 billion. As an individual, your thoughts matter far less, you are just a drop in the ocean.
I think as a Brit there is a lot we can learn from a more collectivistic culture. In some way, to think in a pure individualistic way is not true. Try living as only individual and we will not survive. We need the air that is around us to survive, and every minute, some part of that air becomes us and some part of us becomes air. The same thing happens to food, but we can also think of people around us in the same way. We need them, and they need us. If we were to take away our environment, are we really the same? If we were to take away our family, company, country, then we are fundamentally different, so that is also a part of us, and we are also a part of it. One important thing we can learn is that sometimes, it is beneficial for us to be less individualistic, and support the group, even to our expense. When the group does better, we benefit.
I think that collectivist cultures can learn from being more individualistic, especially if an individual were to move to a more individualistic environment. If you act individualistic in a collectivist culture you are going to upset people, and you may block the progress of the group. In a collectivist culture, the individuals needs are met through the group. If you act collectivist in an individual culture, you are going to find that people may overstep your boundaries, and you are not going to get your needs met. People expect you to take care of your needs yourself, that’s all they’ve ever known.
In order to be more individualistic in a an individual culture, it’s necessary to share your boundaries, to treat people how you want to be treated.
Here are some good books to learn from about how to be more individualistic.
- Pumpkin Plan – the advantages of being different to others.
- Surrender Experiment – how to listen to yourself – instead of listening to your thoughts
- No More Mr Nice Guy – how to be your more authentic self and not trying to appease others when this goes against what you really want, deep down, this is mostly for relationships, but also applies to live in general. People respect you more for it.
