The question of individualism was widely discussed in the 1960s. I suggest some  
of you read Joseph Agassi's article on methodological individualism which  
appeared in the 1960 British Journal of Sociology pp241-70 (available on JSTOR)  
and his follow up in the 1975 volume with an article titled Institutional  
Individualism, pp. 144-55. An if you are adventurous you can read chapter 2 in  
my 1982 and 2003 books.  
  
Lawrence Boland