Open access
The Myth of Western Individualism. Consumerism, the Media and the Illusion of Subjectivity
Bogusław DZIADZIA1
Publication language: Polish
scientific paper
Transformations No. 1(124)2025, Publication date: 31 March 2025
Keywords: individualism, consumerism, media, illusion
Abstract The myth of individualism in Western culture is firmly established, and dramatic changes are not expected in the coming periods. The article talks about how individualism as a value is abused in social influence processes, especially in stimulating consumer needs. The awareness of individualism as a contemporary myth, as a story suggesting a particular world order, becomes particularly important when we look at individuality in the macro scale of global social and capital flows. There, a single individual entity is often reduced to statistical units and the purchasing power of consumer goods and services. At the same time, the article contains theses about individualism as an identity factor contributing to the durability of the social structure.
Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicach, Wydział Sztuki i Nauk o Edukacji w Cieszynie, Polska
ORCID: 0000-0003-1838-7197
E-mail: boguslaw.dziadzia@us.edu.pl