Individualism
Etymology
From "individual" (Latin "individuus," indivisible) plus "-ism." The word was coined in the 19th century, often by critics; Alexis de Tocqueville used it in the 1830s to describe a tendency he observed in American democracy.
noun · /in-duh-VIJ-oo-uh-liz-um/
A social outlook that prizes personal independence, self-reliance, and the primacy of the individual over the group.
What it names
Names both a value system and a way of organizing society around the person rather than the collective.
Example
American individualism celebrates the self-made person, sometimes at the expense of the safety net around them.
Related idea
Collectivism is its counterweight — placing the group’s needs and cohesion above individual autonomy; most cultures mix the two rather than choose one.