I’ve noticed while taking part in virtual debates and from comments here that some Westerners from individualist cultures don’t understand what a collective culture is, and he or she appears to hate what they don’t understand.
It might surprise many in the West that China is not the only country with a collectivist culture.
Along with China, one list I saw had Argentina, Brazil, Vietnam, Egypt, Greece, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Scandinavia and Portugal on it.
For individualist cultures, there was Canada, Australia, England, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and the United States.
In Chinese society, collectivism has a long tradition based on Confucianism, where being a community man or someone with a social personality is valued.
In a collective society such as China, each person is encouraged to conform to society, to do what is best for the group and to not openly express opinions or beliefs that go against it.
Group, family or rights for the common good are seen as more important than the rights of the individual. Laws exist to promote stability, order and obedience.
Working with others and cooperating is the norm. Being uncooperative is often seen as shameful. Source: Psychology – Collectivist and Individualist Cultures
Discover Cultural Differences and China’s Changing Legal System or go to Collective Culture versus Individualism – Part 2
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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of My Splendid Concubine [3rd edition]. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the lusty love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.
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