A Brief Study of American Individualism.docVIP

A Brief Study of American Individualism 　　Abstract： This paper will mainly emphasize on the impact which American individualism has on American society and the whole world， 　　Key words； Key Words： Macroeconomics， Keynesian Revolution， Great Depression 　　Individualism is the core American ethos. It has been the primary force of American civilization for more than two centuries. It is individualism that has supplied the motivation of American political，economic and spiritual institutions in the history of its development. 　　Individualism is originated to the great English scholar John Locke’s doctrine of separations of powers in the 17th century. Locke’s doctrine mainly emphasized on the individual rights， and just this point， affected one of the United States’ founders， Thomas Jefferson， pretty much. Until the year of 1840， a French political commentator Alexis de Tocqueville coined the word “individualism”. Since then， individualism began to encourage generations of Americans to strive for creating a great country and fighting for a better life. According to Encyclopedia Britannia，individualism is a kind of political and social philosophy that places high value on the freedom of the individual and generally stresses the self-directed， self-contained， and comparatively unrestrained individual or ego. Another authoritative dictionary， American Heritage Dictionary， defines individualism in the following three points： 1 .Belief in the primary importance of the individual and in the virtues of self-reliance and personal independence； 2. A doctrine of freedom from government regulation of personal economic or social goals； 3. The doctrine that the interests of the individual should take precedence over the interests of the group. Generally speaking， individualism emphasizes the individual’s rights， including individual happiness and liberty， self-directed， self-contained， and self-development. 　　American individualism is originated to the European modern individualis