Individualism of equality and individualism of inequality both require large social circles.

Evidence

It was the other meaning of individuality that was developed by the nineteenth century, and its contradiction of the meaning just described was not seen on the whole by the eighteenth. This other meaning found its preeminent theoretical expression in Romanticism and its practical expression in the ascendancy of the division of labor. Here individualism means that the person assumes and should assume a position that he and no one else can fill; that this position awaits him, as it were, in the organization of the whole, and that he should search until he finds it; that the personal and social, the psychological and metaphysical meaning of human existence is realized in this immutability of being, this intensified differentiation of performance. This ideal image of individualism seems to have nothing at all to do with the earlier notion of “the generally human,” with the idea of a uniform human nature that is present in everyone and that only requires freedom for its emergence. Indeed, the second meaning fundamentally contradicts the first. In the first, the value emphasis is on what men have in common; in the second, it is on what separates them. But with regard to the correlation I am seeking to verify, they coincide. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 652

Categorization

• XREF: Directly connects to the essay’s Simmel framework: the two face of individuality (uniform vs. differentiated) underpin Julius’s flâneur figure as a differentiated modern individual. — connects to: In narrow circles individuality requires leadership or complete inner independence — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 621; Larger social circles encourage individual freedom; smaller ones restrict it — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 642; Individuality increases as the social circle expands — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 591 (+4 more)
• DEFINE: Distinguishes the two historical meanings of ‘individualism’ Simmel uses throughout — the eighteenth-century equality-of-human-nature form versus the nineteenth-century Romantic differentiation form.

Related

• Individuality and universal equality historically arise as twin reactions to inequality (similarity 0.86)
• Individual diversity can be conceived as a division of labor among unique beings (similarity 0.85)
• Individuality increases as the social circle expands (similarity 0.84)
• Liberated individuals turn from equality toward distinguishing themselves from others (similarity 0.84)
• Larger social circles expand possibilities for developing unique inner lives. (similarity 0.84)
• Each person holds a constant ratio of individual to social factors (similarity 0.84)
• Rising individuality necessarily yields belief in mankind’s ideal unity (similarity 0.83)
• Fewer, more general marriage forms allow more individual differentiation (similarity 0.82)
• Individual uniqueness as a value denies equality rather than grounds it (similarity 0.82)
• The eighteenth century equated individuality with freedom and assumed natural human equality (similarity 0.82)
• Modern individuality values being this specific irreplaceable person, not mere freedom (similarity 0.81)
• Inclusive universal claims arise from within the particular (similarity 0.81)
• True equality among people is impossible due to inescapable uniqueness (similarity 0.81)
• Christian eternal-soul doctrine unites extreme individualism with universal equality (similarity 0.81)
• Richer individuals need wider choice circles to satisfy their specific needs (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Individuality increases as the social circle expands #expands (0.60) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 591
• Individuality and universal equality historically arise as twin reactions to inequality #qualifies (0.55) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 687
• Larger social circles expand possibilities for developing unique inner lives. #corroborates (0.50) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 655
• Individual diversity can be conceived as a division of labor among unique beings #expands (0.40) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 691