Collectivism is the
moral stance,
political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that emphasizes the significance of groups—their identities, goals, rights, outcomes, etc.—and tends to analyze issues in those terms. Collectivism is a basic cultural element that exists as the reverse of
individualism (in the same way
high context culture exists as the reverse of
low context culture), and in some cases stresses the priority of group goals over individual goals and the importance of cohesion within social groups (such as an
ingroup, in whichever specific context it is defined).