Individualism is usually a stupid thing because it ultimately doesn't really have a structural impact on anything.
So how is the Austro-Hungarian empire doing these days?
I agree 100% on the rest of your comment, but I also believe that individual actions can be the catalyst for structural change, and I hope we see that happen in this instance. Collectivism is the culmination of all the individuals acting, but it has to start somewhere.
"I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half."
Attributed to Jay Gould, been around since as early as 1893, so not a conspiracy theory in the least.