‘Individual’ (cá nhân) came to theVietnamese language in the first decades of the twentieth century, alongwith a host of other evocative neologisms, such as ‘society’(xã hôi), ‘ethnic group/nation’(dân tôc), ‘ideology’(chu' nghĩa), ‘democracy’ (dânchu' chu' nghĩa), ‘science’(khoa hoc), and ‘progress’ (tiêńhóa). Initially, ‘individual’ was very much the poorrelation among these new concepts—merely an irreducible human unitbelonging to something else more significant. Thus, each individual wasurged to be a loyal citizen of the nation, an eager participant in some newpolitical organization, or a responsible member of society. Individuals wereoften compared with cells in the body, each one having a legitimate role insustaining and enhancing the vitality of the organism, but meaningless andincapable of surviving on their own. On the other hand, the danger alsoexisted of individuals acting in a selfish, short-sighted manner, whichcould jeopardize the larger order of things. Such persons were said to bewitting or unwitting perpetrators of ‘individualism’(cá nhân chu' nghĩa).