Quantification, De-Humanization, De-Personalization

Quantification per se does not de-humanize, e. g. counting a group of people, though it might when representing someone as an item in an accounting ledger.  But, it does homogenize its objects, thereby potentially de-personalizing each human being thus represented, i. e. since it abstracts from their differences.  Thus rarely noticed is that 'individualism', as it is popularly conceived, is quantification that de-personalizes.  For, 'individual' means 'one', a characteristic that is common to each in a plurality, even if counting or adding does not ensue.  So, labelling someone an 'individual' abstracts from any differences between them and any other 'individual', thereby de-personalizing them. Thus, such 'individualism' accomplishes the opposite of its aim of distinguishing each person from every other person.