I'm quite individualistic.

[Mobin Shabani]

Hi everyone,

I was discussing individuality vs conformity with a non-native speaking friend and he said I'm quite individualistic (he meant he prefers his own benefits as opposed to the benefits of the whole).

I was wondering if it is correct to use individualistic as a personality adjective.

 

[jutfrank]

It seems it was clear enough to you what he meant, so yes, fine.

 

[emsr2d2]

I agree that it's clear what you mean but your description (he prefers his own benefits as opposed to the benefits of the whole) suggests "selfish" to me!

 

[Tarheel]

@Mobin Shabani What do you mean by "benefits"?

 

[Mobin Shabani]

@Mobin Shabani What do you mean by "benefits"?

Imagine you are talking to a friend about whether to stay in your own country or immigrate to another country. Staying in your country could be with the intention of doing something to improve it (contributing to the benefits of the society), while immigrating means that you prefer your own interests. (bening individualistic).

Here you might say: I’m quite individualistic, so I have decided to immigrate.

 

[emsr2d2]

Imagine you are talking to a friend about whether to stay in your own country or immigrate emigrate to another country. Staying in your country could be with the intention of doing something to improve it (contributing to the benefits of the society), while immigrating emigrating means that you prefer your own interests no full stop here (bening being individualistic).

Here you might say: I’m quite individualistic, so I have decided to immigrate emigrate.

 

[Skrej]

"Individualistic" is not the right word for the sentiment you're trying to express.

"Individualistic" (and similar related forms 'individualism', 'individualist', etc.) refer to the uniqueness and originality of that person, not their self-serving nature. They do it to be different, not necessarily because it benefits them over others.

Imagine you are talking to a friend about whether to stay in your own country or immigrate to another country. Staying in your country could be with the intention of doing something to improve it (contributing to the benefits of the society), while immigrating means that you prefer your own interests. (bening individualistic).

Only in the sense that you wish to be different from others, not in the sense that you're doing it for your own benefit over the benefit of society.

Here you might say: I’m quite individualistic, so I have decided to immigrate.

It's a grammatical sentence, but it's suggesting you're being unique or going against a trend. As such, there's nothing particularly individualistic about emigrating or immigrating - hundreds of thousands of people (if not millions) do it every year.

Unless you were one of only a relatively few people who emigrated from your home country, 'individualistic' doesn't strike me as the right term here. Doing so during a wave of 'country-first' sentiment might perhaps make it a bit more individualistic, but that still doesn't seem to be the sentiment you're suggesting. You're doing it solely because it benefits you, not to be unique or different.

You're looking for something like 'selfish' or 'self-serving'.

 

[SoothingDave]

Adam Smith had thoughts about selfishness:

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest. We address ourselves not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities, but of their advantages​

 

[jutfrank]

It strikes me that your friend could have been alluding in part to the axis in social philosophy of individualist versus collectivist cultures, where people from an individualist culture will place their own individual goals, needs, and rights ahead of the goals, needs, and rights of the group. You can trace the kind of Western individualism you get in the English speaking world all the way back to the Enlightenment, in my opinion, particularly to early developers of capitalism such as Adam Smith.