Individual

===Objectivism===
[[Ayn Rand]]'s [[Objectivism]] regards every human as an independent, sovereign entity who possesses an inalienable right to their own life, a right derived from their nature as a rational being. Individualism and Objectivism hold that a civilized society, or any form of association, cooperation or peaceful coexistence among humans, can be achieved only on the basis of the recognition of [[individual rights]]&nbsp;— and that a group, as such, has no rights other than the individual rights of its members. The principle of individual rights is the only moral base of all groups or associations. Since only an individual man or woman can possess rights, the expression "individual rights" is a redundancy (which one has to use for purposes of clarification in today's intellectual chaos), but the expression "[[collective rights]]" is a contradiction in terms. Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a [[Tyranny of the majority|majority]] has no right to vote away the rights of a [[minority group|minority]]; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities (and the smallest minority on earth is the individual).<ref>Ayn Rand, [http://www.aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/individualism.html ''"Individualism"'']. Ayn Rand Lexicon.</ref><ref>Ayn Rand (1961), [http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/individualrights.html ''"Individual Rights"'']. Ayn Rand Lexicon.</ref>