[MD] The Individual Level

[Platt Holden]

Hi All, 

Still another -- and perhaps the strongest reason -- why the 
intellectual level might better be called the individual level:

"Third, there were moral codes that established the supremacy of the 
intellectual order over the social order -- democracy, trial by jury, 
freedom of speech, freedom of the press." (Lila, 13)

>From Wikipedia:

"In political philosophy, the individualist theory of government holds 
that the state should take a merely defensive role by protecting the 
liberty of each individual to act as he or she wishes as long he or she 
does not infringe on the same liberty of another. This contrasts with 
collectivist political theories, where, rather than leaving the 
individual to pursue his or her own ends, the state ensures that the 
individual serves the interests of society when taken as a whole. It 
also contrasts with fascism, where the individual is required to serve 
the interests of the state. The term has also been used to describe 
"individual initiative" and "freedom of the individual" in general, 
perhaps best described by the French term "laissez faire," a verb 
meaning "to let [the people] do" [for themselves what they know how to 
do].

To claim that the MOQ is not concerned with political philosophy denies 
its practical application to everyday life. It specifically designates 
the intellectual level as the source of individualism.

To rename the intellectual level the individual level makes the MOQ 
more relevant to the titanic struggle of our time and for the 
foreseeable future -- the struggle between the preservation of 
individual liberty and the dark forces of totalitarianism -- such as 
currently being fought in the MIddle East.. 

Best,
Platt