ABSTRACT. This article intends to analyze the evolution of the meaning of “individualization” in Chinese society and tries to explain the potential that individual creativity has in society. It shows that individualization emerged in Chinese society during the Chinese economic reform and period of opening up, which began in 1978. Second, it uses Michel Foucault’s philosophy on “governmentality” and the “aesthetics of existence” to explain how the concept of individualization exists in Chinese consumer society. Third, it shows that individual creativity contributes to society by influencing the culture of collective intelligence to create a new kind of self-directed learning in the community. pp. 35–40

Keywords: consumer society; individualization; collective intelligence; governmentality; self-directed learning

doi:10.22381/KC7220197