Individual responsibility is often given a great deal of emphasis, and this may be particularly true in the United States. Within the US, the individual seen as being self-sufficient is often held up as an example of the highest level of character. People seen as dependant, however, are often scorned and even used as political propaganda. Whether making judgments about individual responsibility is right or wrong, it certainly does happen.



While it's true that responsibility is typically seen as a virtue, most people would put a limit on what a person can reasonably accept responsibility for. For example, most people wouldn't hold someone responsible for an act of nature that destroyed property. Neither would the majority of people likely hold on person responsible for a wide scale famine where lives are lost. In other words, there are usually accepted limits to what one is seen as being responsible for.

The polar opposite, if you will, of individual responsibility is the notion that people don't have an form of responsibility at all. This sort of thinking often presumes that people are merely carrying out an existence that was determined for them by a source power. In this way of looking at life, human beings are just moving along a path that was already chosen for them. This type of thinking isn't especially popular in western culture, and would probably be viewed by the majority of people in western cultures as extremist or irresponsible.

Ho'oponopono is one particular perspective that does embrace the idea of personal responsibility. Ho'oponopono is a method used for problem solving and life enhancement. The method of ho'oponopono has its origins in Hawaii, where the natives have used the form for many generations. A core idea behind ho'oponopono is accepting responsibility for harm caused so that conflict between people may be resolved.

In an updated version of ho'oponopono, the connection is not between people but between an individual and a higher power. In this ho'oponopono form, the individual makes amends for problems within their life. An important aspect of this method is being willing to accept complete responsibility for all the events that an individual comes to experience. There are no exceptions to this idea, as the individual is thought to bring about every event that he or she is aware of or experiences.

This core idea of total responsibility for every aspect of life means some will see ho'oponopono as unrealistic or extreme. Looking at ho'oponopono from this perspective, one could reasonably said it's the complete opposite of the notion that individuals don't have any responsibility to speak of. There is no question that ho'oponopono has its share of critics, but there is an increasingly large number of people who regularly practice ho'oponopono. For these people at least, total responsibility is an acceptable notion.