I discuss here the question of individuation and the transformation of both the individual and society. I begin with a discussion of Jung’s view on individuation and the relationship of the individual to the community. The all-inclusive and transformative nature of the Self is, for him, the key. Although there is a general acceptance of contemporary culture, there does come a point in the individuation process where one needs to come to terms with contemporary collective values. I contrast Jung’s views with those of several post-Jungians who, in most cases, have an agenda to change society and, in one case there is emphasis on the need to liberate the individual from cultural conditioning. The former wish to define the ego less individualistically than is normally the case and they define it more communally, whereas the latter puts emphasis on individual subjective truth. A third position, that of Jung's, is both critical of the nature of present day society and collective values and yet sees it as the place individuation occurs. I conclude that only Jung’s view, along with that of von Franz, genuinely allows for a potentially full expression of the pluralistic psyche and, in particular, the deeper needs and demands for transformation of both the individual and of the collective psyche or the community.
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