WordNet
n. individualism in social and economic affairs; belief not only in personal liberty and self-reliance but also in free competition
Wikipedia
Rugged individualism was the phrase used often by Herbert Hoover during his time as president. It refers to the idea that each individual should be able to help themselves out, and that the government does not need to involve itself in people's economic lives nor in national economics in general. It is often associated with Social Darwinism or an "up-by-the-bootstraps" philosophy.
Hoover's idea of "rugged individualism" reflected his idea of how the federal government should not interfere with the American people during the Great Depression. Providing large-scale humanitarian efforts, Hoover feared, would injure "the initiative and enterprise of the American people." Post- World War I, rugged individualism appealed to fiscal conservatives who were dismayed by the regulatory bureaucracy built up by the Wilson administration.
When the Depression started, Hoover insisted that the market would right itself. However, further into his term, Hoover felt that he was forced into action by the dire circumstances of the Depression, but still believed that the government should play a limited role in the American economy.
Usage examples of "rugged individualism".
These are the people who never got the message that rugged individualism has made some drastic adjustments in these hyper-organized times.
If an artist had looked for a model of rugged individualism, he would have picked that face.
Or the logistical processes of coordinating close to a hundred people who all tested out rather higher than usual in Rugged Individualism?
It was a world which typified rugged individualism at its best--or worst, a world whose urbane countenance revealed nothing of the seething and sinister turmoil of its innards, a world whose one rule.
These people make an absolute fetish out of rugged individualism, and there's still a lot of unclaimed land and free range.
Wedge wondered how badly this would have affected her record a few years ago, when the New Republic was the Rebel Alliance and the military was a looser, rougher organization where rugged individualism was the norm rather than a common exception.
You might think that this small triumph of rugged individualism over the government and the laws of physics would inspire a mood change for the better.
Alerted by movement and by a glimpse of eye shine, Bobby snapped the shotgun into firing position, I drew the Glock from my shoulder holster, Sasha pulled her revolver, and we swung toward the perceived threat, forming a manic tableau of paranoia and rugged individualism that would have been perfection if we'd just had one of those pre-Revolutionary War flags that featured a coiled serpent and the words Don't Tread on Me.
What's the value of group identification, if rugged individualism is really the winning hand?
So to symbolize the humble beginnings of the Chiclitz empire and to get the idea of force, enterprise, engineering skill and rugged individualism in there too, Chiclitz christened the company Yoyodyne.