I think that what he is meaning by individualism is the "Me, me, me" attitude, which is the dark side of the celebrated sort of individualism which society ought to build towards.

There was a piece in a recent New Scientist (I think - if not, the Guardian) about how crowds actually work well. It cited the way that Hillsborough fans worked to rescue others among other cases, and then described how the authorities seeing, and treating crowds as a problem, actually caused trouble. Kettle harmless folk, and they protest more actively. A mob is, I suppose, the dark side of a crowd. What you get when you try to treat them like sheep.

What's scared me a couple of times has been people stating (almost the same words, different places, different groups) "this is democracy, we've elected you to make the decisions" with an implication that further consultation was not necessary. some people want to be sheep.

Penny