rugged individualism

Cultural  

1. The belief that all individuals, or nearly all individuals, can succeed on their own and that government help for people should be minimal. The phrase is often associated with policies of the Republican party and was widely used by the Republican president Herbert Hoover. The phrase was later used in scorn by the Democratic presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman to refer to the disasters of Hoover's administration, during which the stock market Crash of 1929 occurred and the Great Depression began.

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Example Sentences

The system can track how many lines of code an engineer wrote with AI and includes AI tools that provide individuals with insights about their own impact, which they can use for self-evaluations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026

In essence, society needs to agree on good rules in order to provide individuals with the best possible support on the path to the desired change towards greater sustainability.

From Science Daily • Nov. 30, 2023

Federal assistance will also provide individuals programs based on need and how much residents have.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 19, 2023

It’s also asking to limit the additional civil investigative demands to provide individuals more flexibility in scheduling and time to choose their own attorneys.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 16, 2022

“These social network tools provide individuals with tremendous reach,” said Dr. Horvitz, the Microsoft researcher.

From New York Times • Nov. 22, 2011