Interrogating individuals: The theory of possessive individualism in the Western Pacific

Both the theory of possessive individualism and its critique are present in recent economic restructuring in the western Pacific. These papers show that, although the theory of possessive individualism is not new, the moral basis of the critique of that specific form of social identity varies. I discuss how the inception of the concept emerged alongside the critique of this form of personhood, and then examine the emergence of possessive individualism at the time of independence in the Pacific Islands. Finally, I outline the moral basis of the critique of possessive individualism for the contemporary period, and suggest that the theory of possessive individualism advances by outlining the terms of it own critique.