Gilles Lipovetsky – O que é “individualismo” afinal?

Individualism is a concept that is often associated to selfishness, and sometimes both terms are considered as synonyms. Some institutions are continuingly developing this problem. For example, the Pope, when he evokes the term individualism, he means selfishness.

A selfish individual is someone who thinks only about himself and isn’t worried about others, and therefore it is a synonym for selfishness. As an alternative point of view, I proposed many years ago a different approach. This one I have just summarized is a moral approach.

But the idea of individualism is above all what I would label as being antropo-historical. From this perspective, individualism is not equivalent to selfishness. Individualism is.

. . a new configuration.

. . a response to new configurations of modern values that place the individual’s sovereignty over himself and concerning the Law.

Therefore, the idea of individual leads to the principle that every person is to be seen as free and similar to the others. For being free and similar to the others, they also legislate over their own lives, they should organize their lives and carry it out freely, and they must also organize life in society, it is to say, to create laws through the vote, through universal suffrage. From this perspective, individualism is not the same as selfishness, but means, preferably, liberty.