| Collectivist | Individualist |
|---|---|
| If you believe that individuals should serve, sacrifice for or be subservient to groups, governments or religions in the name of altruism, nation or god, that people should be forced to pay when they are insufficiently charitable, that people are entitled to housing, medical care, retirement, a job, a fair wage, equal wage or minimum wage, then you are a Collectivist. | If you believe that you should not initiate force or engage in fraud, that anything voluntary is OK, that you have the individual right to self-ownership, property and the freedom the use it as you please, that you are responsible for your property and its defense, and that property damage must be compensated, then you are an Individualist. |
Unlike some libertarians who will tolerate a little slavery in order to sustain minimum government, Individualists tolerate no slavery, and hence seek no government. Individualists will voluntary sacrifice for a mate, progeny and others out of self-interest, but not for any external interest. Individualism is the natural order evolving from tribalism.
The benefits of relative amounts capitalism/individualism are demonstrated in the following graphs:
Source: The Cato Institutes's "Economic Freedom of the World: 2009 Annual Report."