In the past, before modern
technology largely alleviated issues of economic
scarcity in industrialised countries, most people spent a large portion of their time attempting to provide their basic survival needs, including water, food, and protection from the weather. Humans needed
survival skills for the sake of both themselves and their community; food needed to be harvested and shelters needed to be maintained. There was little
privacy in a community, and people identified one another according to their social role.
Jobs were assigned out of necessity rather than personal choice. Furthermore, individuals in many
ancient cultures primarily viewed their
self-existence under the aspect of a larger social whole, often one with
mythological underpinnings which placed the individual in relation to the
cosmos. People in such cultures found their identity not through their individual
choices—indeed, they may not have been able to conceive a choice which was purely individual. Such individuals, if asked to describe themselves, would speak of the collective of which they were part: the
tribe, the
Church, the
nation. Even in the 21st century, survival issues dominate in many countries and societies. For example, many countries in the continents of Africa and Asia are still largely mired in
poverty and
third-world conditions, without technology, secure shelter, or reliable food sources. In such places, the concepts of a "personal life", "
self-actualization", "personal fulfillment", or "
privacy" are often unaffordable luxuries. The English philosopher
John Locke (1632–1704) figures among the pioneers in discussing the concept of
individual rights. In the 17th century he promoted the natural rights of the individual to
life,
liberty, and
property, and included the pursuit of happiness as one of the individual's goals. ==Sociology==