Gillespie 1

Julia Gillespie
Meyer
English I
12 December 2016
The Importance of Socialism
The term society means relationships between beings that shapes and develops them into
who they are. Man is a social animal; he depends on society for his existence. For example, a
human child depending on their parents for their survival and growth. Man cannot live without
association with others and society provides this. Not only does man depend on society, but
without the conditions society creates, there would be no such thing as individualism or
differentiation. For example, without experiencing events in life, one might not have their well
known trait of perseverance and bravery. Society is more important than the individual for you
cannot have an individual without the conditions and situations society provides.
The importance of society is stressed through the fact that it shapes an individuals
self-morals and character; you cannot have individualism ( an idea that many believe is more
important than following norms) without society. A society is full of men interacting with one
another and conditions and components adding up to create scenarios where a human would have
to express themselves. The claim that you cannot have individuality without society is supported
by the fact that what a person goes through in life shapes them to become who they are today.
Also, a persons sense of who they are is based on their group membership(s)(McLeod, par. 1).
This quote

from Social Identity Theory explains how man does not know who he is as an
individual without comparing himself to others. However, this still does not mean that people are

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the same; every human is still very unique in their own way. Yet, groups and organizations are
still mandatory to find your own self. A unique personality cannot conform without being put
through situations and feeling the effects of them. This is what shapes a person, and without it
there is simply no individualism. Overall, without society there is no uniqueness to a personality.
Not only is society more important because it shapes the individual, but it is also shown
that mankind is born to associate with other humans and if they were to try to survive alone
without a society they wouldnt be able to strive. The fact that humans are made to work in
groups and associate with others is shown in the poem Mending Walls when Robert Frost
states, Good fences make good neighbors./ If I could put a notion in his head/ Why do they
make good neighbors?/ Isnt it Where there are cows?/ But here there are no cows. This quote
from Robert Frosts, Mending Wall, helps to display the fact that individuals can only satisfy
their expanding wants by association with other men and setting up barriers or walls to keep to
themselves as individuals is not the way to involve themselves with others. In this case, fences
should only be used to keep items in or out, however the should not be used to separate other
humans from interacting and integrating with one another. Man is evidently made to work in
groups and relies on society for his existence and welfare, as well as his feelings of belonging.
In almost all aspects of life man feels the need for society. Although most would agree with the
evidently proven claim that society is more important than the individual, some still argue the
opposite claim.
Although there is vivid evidence that the rights and good of a society lay higher than the
welfare of a single person, many people believe that individuals are more important because they
make up society and that individual rights should be thought of before community rights.

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However, they fail to see that the welfare of a group of people is just as important, if not more, as
the good of a single. Many will agree with the statement that each individual makes up society
and you cant have a society with individuals. Those who believe this think that individual rights
are more important than group rights. In opposition, When someone acts out against society,
such as theft, murder, or directly violating another individual's rights, it is in the interest of
society to stop them(Social Contract Theory). Although it is fair to say that the rights of
individuals should be respected and that every single life matters, it ultimately fails to be a
stronger argument because if a community were to put the welfare and rights of a single being
over the well of a group, this would result in the deterioration of the society because of lack of
fair treatment for all. This is evident in the fact that if you were to have a large pandemic of a
deadly disease, you would not focus on saving one life out of thousands. As harsh as the realities
are, the major goal would be to save multiple lives instead of one, so that in the long run, the
society can still thrive and achieve. If you were to think of only protecting one human, that
would eventually lead to the downfall of the society, for it is proven that mankind was made to
work and associate in groups.
In conclusion, society is more important than the individual because without society
individual personalities cannot be shaped and man cannot thrive and succeed. Society is more
important and without it, people wouldnt be who they are, man wouldnt grow to new heights
and the common good of a society would deteriorate.

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Works Cited
Foulkes, Arthur. "The Individual and Society." FEE Freeman Article. N.p., 01 Sept. 2003. Web.
16 Dec. 2016.
Hossain, Anayet. "Open Journal of Social Sciences - SCIRP." Open Journal of Social Sciences.
SCIRP. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.
McLeod, Saul. Saul McLeod. Simply Psychology. N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 18 Dec. 2016.
Mending Wall by Robert Frost | Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation,
n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2016
Social Contract Theory. Social Contract Theory. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2016.
"Socrates Exchange: Are Individual Rights More Important than the Common Good?" Socrates
Exchange: Are Individual Rights More Important than the Common Good? N.p., n.d.
Web. 11 Dec. 2016.