Individualism Vs. Collectivism

Last night I was conversing with a friend about the advantages and disadvantages of both individualism and collectivism.

For arguments sake, it might be helpful to post the Wikipedia definitions.

Collectivism is any philosophic, political, economic or social outlook that emphasizes the interdependence of every human in some collective group and the priority of group goals over individual goals. Collectivists usually focus on community, society or nation. Collectivism has been widely used to refer to a number of different political, economic and educational philosophies, ranging from communalism and democracy to totalitarian nationalism.

Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual".^[1] Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance^[2] while opposing most external interference upon one's own interests, whether by society, family or any other group or institution.^[2]

Hmm...

Last night I was trying to formulate a poorly planned out argument in favor of collectivism over individualism (I failed miserably). Today, however, it seems to make much more sense to postulate that that, in fact, both philosophies have varying degrees of merit, contingent upon individual situations.

That is to say that looking at the argument as a choice between collectivism and individualism is really a false dichotomy.