An individual's obligation to society ought to outweigh society's obligation to an individual?

Question

Do you think that an individual owes society or does society owe the individuals that inhabbit it.

Answer 1

It's all a question of how you define society. I personally prefer the term community. I don't feel any obligation to grand abstract ideas that may come out of 'society' at large unless they happen to suit me.
I do however, feel the obligation to be a good neighbor, to behave properly to people who surround me and to fulfill commitments I take, whether to those people, my employer, my family, etc...
Society, on the other hand, has a reasonable obligation to encourage its citizens to do so, to reward those who act properly and to discourage others from hindering the individuals within the society.
I stop at espousing grand ideas that may sweep society as any kind of obligation; these things tend to be changing and fickle and if anything, I feel a duty as a citizen to examine what is presented by political actors in a sober fashion, to weigh the reasons behind those ideas and to be the voice of moderation and reason whenever possible.

Answer 2

The magic word here is "Individual" and how they are raised by their family and their immediate social and economic surroundings. Self sufficiency is a very simple concept that has been with us for 20,000 years. As politicians (whether elected or not) , their clergy, and media gain more control in a given geographical area, it is in their best interest to inhibit the concept of self sufficiency in favor of cultivating a need for all the benefits the politicians version of “society” can provide. A legitimate "society" would offer numerous options to the concept of "obligation" and reward self sufficiency. However, as politicians become more empowered by the people they assist by plundering from the self sufficient, the individual initiative of the self sufficient drops, as does their responsibility to be obligated to "society." Such is the stuff of revolutions.
No one “Individual” owes one whit to “society” except to respect other individuals and their inalienable rights to exist and be self sufficient. The burdens placed by society on the self sufficient individual should be severely limited by empowerment to those individuals. We don’t “inhabit” a society, it surrounds and suppresses us… for the benefit of the not so self sufficient (not to be confused with those physically or mentally unable to function within the society, a moral issue, not a political one).

Answer 3

Well, to quote Emerson-"Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion."

If a person willingly chooses to remain in the comfort and stable environment that society provides, he must in turn "pay his due" though conformity to the expectations of society. We owe society because it provides for us.

Answer 4

Neither. We owe nothing to anyone. Society owes us nothing. It's all meaningless human invention.

Answer 5

If everyone thought and did nothing for anyone but themselves then this country would be where it's at today.