Hyperindividualism

Hyperindividualism is the tendency, in a liberal individualist society, for social actors to understand themselves as disparate entities rather than primarily as members of collectives or groups. Liberal individualism, as an epistemology and way of being, sees the primary social actor as an individual who is capable of transcending any and all social categories that that person might be a part of. While there are group level phenomena in this worldview, those groups can best be understood as collectives of individuals. This means that our analysis must center and focus on individuals capable of making and defining their own realities and subjectivities. Hyperindividualism can thus be understood as what happens when liberal individualists are reinforced in their individuality to the extent that social categories lose any and all meanings. Everyone is an independent social agent, and so everyone is thus independently responsible for their social location and social realities.