Individualism

Individualism, in contrast to socialism and all other forms of totalitarianism, as described by noted economist Friedrich Hayek, is based on the respect of Christianity for the individual man and the belief that it is desirable that men should be free to develop their own individual gifts. This philosophy, first fully developed during the Renaissance, grew and spread into what we know as Western civilization. The general direction of social development was one of freeing the individual from the ties which bound him in feudal society.