Mana-mana tamadun ialah himpunan konsep tentang kehidupan, termasuk konsep asas dan fundamental yang dianggap oleh rakyatnya sebagai kriteria, nilai dan cita-cita yang membezakan mereka daripada yang lain. Himpunan ini juga merangkumi konsep-konsep cabang yang bersifat sekunder. Antara konsep fundamental yang tersendiri bagi tamadun Barat, sebagaimana yang telah disebutkan sebelum ini, ialah konsep individualisme dan kebebasan (liberty). Ahli ekonomi dan ahli falsafah, Ludwig Von Mises, berkata dalam bukunya, Liberty and Property, "Prinsip tersendiri dalam falsafah sosial Barat ialah individualisme. Ia bertujuan mewujudkan satu ruang di mana individu bebas untuk berfikir, memilih dan bertindak tanpa dikekang oleh campur tangan jentera paksaan dan penindasan sosial, iaitu Negara. Semua pencapaian rohani dan material tamadun Barat ialah hasil daripada berjalannya idea kebebasan ini."

Any civilization is a collection of concepts about life, including the foundational, fundamental concepts which its people consider as criteria, values and ideals that makes them distinct from others. This collection also includes secondary, branch concepts. Amongst the fundamental, distinctive concepts of the Western civilization, as mentioned earlier, are the concepts of individualism and freedom (liberty). Economist and philosopher, Ludwig Von Mises, says in his book, Liberty and Property, “The distinctive principle of Western social philosophy is individualism. It aims at the creation of a sphere in which the individual is free to think, to choose, and to act without being restrained by the interference of the social apparatus of coercion and oppression, the State. All the spiritual and material achievements of Western civilization were the result of the operation of this idea of liberty.”.

Realiti konsep individualisme ialah ia berpunca daripada sekularisme. Konsep ini muncul apabila manusia Barat membebaskan dirinya daripada kuasa Gereja dan raja-raja, yang sebelum ini mengaitkan segala urusan dan perbuatan duniawinya dengan Akhirat. Dalam sistem tersebut, dia merasakan dirinya dipaksa dan ditindas, dengan kehendak serta hak-haknya dalam kehidupan dihancurkan. Pada masa itu, identitinya dibentuk mengikut tradisi dan kepercayaan masyarakat. Apabila dia membebaskan dirinya daripada kuasa ini, hubungannya dengan Akhirat terputus. Dia kemudian memusatkan sepenuh perhatiannya kepada urusan duniawi. Maka dia mula hidup di dunia ini dan bukan di luar dunia ini, sebagaimana kata mereka. Sebaliknya, dia menjadi tuan kepada dunia ini. Kedudukan pusat dan kedaulatan individu diperkukuh oleh teori hak-hak tabii. Teori ini menegaskan bahawa individu memperoleh haknya daripada fitrahnya, manakala masyarakat tidak memberikan hak-hak sedemikian kepadanya. Hak-hak ini tetap dan menjadi miliknya. Ia bersifat sejagat, asas, tidak boleh dilepaskan dan tidak boleh dibatalkan.

The reality of the concept of individualism is that it emanates from secularism. The concept emanated when the Western man rid himself of the authority of the Church and kings, that connected all of his worldly affairs and actions to the Hereafter. Within the system, he felt coerced and oppressed, with his will and rights within life, crushed. In those times, his identity was shaped according to the traditions and beliefs of the society. When he rid himself of this authority, his connection with the Hereafter was severed. He then turned his full focus towards worldly affairs. So he started living in this world and not outside of this world, as they say. Instead, he became master of this world. The centrality and sovereignty of the individual was reinforced by the theory of natural rights. This theory asserts that the individual has his rights derived from his nature, whilst the society does not grant him such rights. These rights are fixed for him. They are universal, fundamental, inalienable and cannot be repealed.

Dengan demikian, individu dilahirkan bersama hak-hak asasinya, iaitu kewujudan mereka beserta hak-hak tersebut mendahului kewujudan masyarakat, undang-undangnya, perundangannya dan kekangannya. Oleh itu, kebebasan ialah asas kewujudan manusia. Individu adalah sama dalam hak-hak ini. Tiada seorang pun daripada mereka yang menafikan atau membatalkan hak-hak orang lain. Memandangkan individu, dari segi asal dan tabiatnya, ialah makhluk yang tidak bermasyarakat, maka apabila berlaku pergaulan sosial, dia terdedah kepada pertengkaran, konflik dan kekacauan. Maka, dalam keadaan sedemikian mesti wujud suatu organisasi, dengan cara individu-individu membuat persetujuan dan tolak ansur dalam sebuah komuniti. Matlamat komuniti ini ialah untuk menegakkan hak kebebasan dan kesaksamaan bagi semua, iaitu individu menyerahkan sebahagian haknya kepada kehendak kolektif, yang dijelmakan oleh negara melalui kontrak sosial. Dengan cara ini, melalui kontrak bersama, pihak berkuasa memerintah menjadi sebuah institusi manusia yang mendapat perundangannya daripada perjanjian kawal selia antara rakyat. Negara kemudian mengatur hak-hak dan kebebasan, iaitu negara melaksanakan kuasanya berasaskan kehendak manusia dan bukan berasaskan kehendak ilahi, di mana kehendak individu menjadi punca dan asas kepada kehendak kolektif.

Thus individuals are born with their natural rights i.e. their existence with their rights precedes the existence of the society, its laws, legislations and constraints. Accordingly, freedom is the foundation of human existence. Individuals are equal in these rights. None of them deprives or repeals the rights of others. Since the individual is a non-social entity in terms of origin and nature, he is subjected to quarrel, conflict and chaos in the event of socialization. So there must be an organization in such a situation by making concessions with a community of individuals. This community's objective is to establish the right to freedom and equality for all i.e. the individual concedes his rights to the collective will, embodied by the state through social contract. In this way, through mutual contract, the ruling authority became a human institution that derives its legislations from the regulatory agreement between the people. The state then regulates the rights and freedoms, i.e. the state executes upon the basis of human will and not upon the basis of divine will, where the will of individuals is the root and basis of collective will.