the rights of the individual versus the greater good

OH online: "The real beauty in life is the obligations, not the freedoms." I think it's in the middle there somewhere.

I admire the Asian prioritisation of the group over the individual, in contrast to whiney Western self-indulgent entitlement. With every generation we shift further into selfishness in the name of "freedom" and especially "rights".
On the other hand "obligations" smacks of that Protestant work ethic so beloved in the USA which veers dangerously close to paid slavery.
There's a balance in their somewhere. I admire the Western communities during WWII. It is easier to focus on the greater good in times of war. Not so easy to balance the needs of the many against the needs of the individual in peacetime. Sometimes Asians lose sight of human rights, sometimes the West loses sight of communal good.
Perhaps the real beauty in life is an elegant balance of obligations and freedoms.