Are We Naturally an Individualistic Culture?

A glance back into the historical society of mankind paints a grim picture of our natural intent. Though there are inspiring periods such as the renaissance, others like medieval ages and the fall of ancient societies certainly beg the question; are we individualistic by nature?

In this blog post I am specifically trying to build off of my previous posting about child development.

I strongly urge any readers to check out that post through this link (Industrialized Child Development in the Modern World).

In that post I reviewed the importance of schooling, or, sustainable development in children and feel it should be modernized from its industrial roots. I propose that appropriate nurturing of children will lead to greater prosperity in our future.

Our individualistic culture encourages our children to behave similarly and the materialistic culture trap continues to evolve and expand each new generation.

Some would argue that individualism is human nature, nothing else can be done and our monetary society is geared around that fact.

Others would postulate that these things are learned over time and children’s minds are fully moldable.

Furthermore, some argue that collectivism would not lead to scientific and technological prosperity and that, without the dollar, humans would lack any intrinsic motivation whatsoever.

So, back to the original question, are we naturally an individualistic culture? What are your thoughts, how could we shift towards a collective society? And, if not, how do you see a more sustainable development through the monetary system?