@isasv I think of it more as the difference between porous and less-permeable social boundaries. Supposedly “Collectivist” societies can be profoundly atomized and profoundly focused on competition and exploitation of one’s fellow nationals, etc. @isasv Meanwhile, members of “individualist” societies often are very much enmeshed in cooperative organizations, in community groups, in charities, and so on.

“Collectivist” and “individualist” are really more like myths we like to tell about our own societies.