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In the past, before modern technology largely alleviated the problem of economic scarcity in industrialised countries, most people spent a large portion of their time attempting to provide their basic survival needs, including water, food, and protection from the weather.[4] Survival skills were necessary for the sake of both self and community; food needed to be harvested and shelters needed to be maintained.[5] There was little privacy in a community, and people were identified by their social role.[6] Jobs were assigned out of necessity rather than personal choice.[7] Furthermore, individuals in many ancient cultures primarily viewed their self-existence under the aspect of a larger social whole, often one with mythological underpinnings which placed the individual in relation to the cosmos.[8] People in such cultures found their identity not through their individual choices—indeed, they may not have been able to conceive a choice which was purely individual. Such individuals, if asked to describe themselves, would speak of the collective of which they were part: the tribe, the Church, the nation.[9] Even now, survival issues are still dominant in many countries and societies. For example, the continents of Africa and Asia are still largely mired in poverty and third-world conditions, without technology, secure shelter, or reliable food sources. In such places, the concepts of a "personal life", "self-actualization", "personal fulfillment", or "privacy" are largely unaffordable luxuries.[10] The English philosopher, John Locke (1632-1704), figures amiong the pioneers in discussing the concept of individual rights. In the 17th century, he promoted the natural rights of the individual to life, liberty, and property, and included the pursuit of happiness as one of the individual's goals. |
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