Role of Individualism in Europe from 1700 to 1950.
"The surest defense against Evil is extreme individualism, originality of thinking, whimsicality, even-if you will-eccentricity. That is, something that can't be feigned, faked, imitated; something even a seasoned imposter couldn't be happy with- (Brodsky). Up until the late 1600s, European history was marked by a medieval structure consisting of religious traditions and practices. People's ideals were recognized by the rulers of their nations and the clergy. Individualism became crucial to people's lives throughout the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries because of the key social movements and changing political structures.
The enlightenment was one of the key eras that challenging the role of religion in people's lives and therefore brought fundamental change. Two of the big promoters of change for the individual were John Locke and Adam Smith. Together, they worked to put the individual at the top echelon of society instead of the bottom. The ideas that he promoted for the individual went totally against all modes of thought for his day. To him, the individual was the most important element of society, even coming before government. In his "Two Treatises of Government," Locke argued that an individual, with the assistance of other individuals, chose for themselves the government that they felt best suited, and that government ironically instead of accepting allegiance from the people, owed it to them instead. Government was a tool designed by individuals to protect the natural rights of an individual. The individual was in control. The idea that it was natural for an individual to assert his own liberty of life and property was a complete change of pace from the old way of thinking. To Locke, the fact that the individual indeed had natural rights meant that it was not selfish or egocentric for an individual to act this way. Locke also emphasized the rights of the individual in all levels of society, including children.