>>5individualism
Not a good thing. See: millennial american special snowflake SJWs.
During my time studying abroad in Asia, I saw the importance of collectivism.
People in individualist societies tend to dismiss groups as ``sheeple'' but what it really means is being part of a collective that is bigger than yourself. It's nice to have friends and connections. Of course, individualists have friends too, but social dynamics are different in low context societies where it's considered normal for everyone to have a personally-based system of values rather than a group-based system of shared values and expectations and social norms. Individualist "friends" in the west aren't as cohesive as group-minded friends in the east. I really miss the people I met. I still talk with them online.
Groups don't always have to be a massive scale, either.
3 people working together can accomplish much more than what 3 separate individuals can do, due to specialization and emergent effects of groups. A single person by themselves has to do everything. A group can choose to have each person specialize in something separate. Collectivism is more like Ford's assembly line, which is funny, considering that Ford is an American, part of a country which emphasizes individuality (at least in modern times).
The west is becoming more antisocial (partially due to technology, but not completely), isolative, and increasingly individualistic. Apps instead of face-to-face interaction, identity politics, social media bubbling, echo chambers, targeted ads, SJW teachers, all that shit. People are far removed from their race or even family. This is not a good thing. People are being told that they themselves can come up with their own individual ideas and system of morals. But in reality, they are being fed their ideas by biased media outlets. What really ends up happening is that people let elite-controlled media dictate their system of values. This is a bad thing.
Since I came back to America, I've felt saddened by the lack of connections most people have. But I've joined more groups and become more collectivist. It feels good to be a part of something more important than you are. And you can always choose groups that are more in tune with you, rather than random ones. But that's still not individuality.
I didn't even bother to read the rest of your post, but don't you dare say individualism is a good thing.
Perhaps too much groupthink is bad. But unrestricted individualism, as we see in America, is horrible.