[MD] indivi-dualism

[John Carl]

Ron and Adrie,


On Fri, May 28, 2010 at 6:56 AM, X Acto <xacto at rocketmail.com> wrote:

> What you miss is the collective idea of the value of the individual.
>
>
This is a point well worth discussing.  There is a collective idea of
individualism that is opposed to true individualism.

True individualism consists of embracing different povs with harmonious
goals, whereas the collectively imagined individualism consists of simply a
reaction against the collective, romantically portrayed.

Think of the sneering and pierced and tatooed youth of modern times, the
disaffected rebel who dresses in counter-culture garb in order to stand
out.  Just like everybody else.  Think the hippie movement of the late 70's.

True individualism is only possible in †he context of a true community,
whereas this reactionary individual is  an aspect of the collective.

The dearth of true community is responsible for the dearth of true
individuals, which helps perpetuate the collective creation of more and more
reactionary individualism, which in turn suppresses true individualism.

The best romantic description of this phenomena I'm describing, is Ben
Elton's re-telling of Orwell's 1984.  A funny and frightening book.
Frightening because all you have to do is imagine the extrapolation of
current trends and you can see the total degradation of true individualism.

The best classic description is Royce's Philosophy of Loyalty.

Take Care,

John