Individualism, the bane of society

It is not true that man by nature is motivated to exert best only by selfish ends, more so by

monetary interest. Social history proves otherwise. Man by birth is creative and social.

However, through a concerted campaign man is made selfish. Full-fledged conditioning for 

such long has made common man think and behave like a selfish animal forgetting one’s

own past. Likewise, de-conditioning is a distinct eventuality to establish the historical truth.

History of pre- industrial phase does not corroborate that self is a guiding attribute of man.

The theoretical premise of such a campaign for capital-based ‘market forces to contend’ is

the virtue these apologists constantly search in individualism. It found a precious base in the

earlier slogan of ‘individual liberty’; craftily brewing the two to their great advantage,

grafting many mythical formulations in trail.

Let us recollect the genesis first. As a finished product of individualism, ‘selfish-ends’ has a

history of three hundred years alone. Despite this sponsored lineage, selfish-ends are short,

distrustful and itching while social-ends are enduring and satisfying that are more close to

the nature of man than animal.

Man or woman basically survived in society and learned to work collectively. In spite of 

gruelling efforts to condition human nature during these later three hundred years by the

ruling sections in consonance with industrial-commercial interests, man still does not go by

selfish ends alone. Instances are not few when one’s natural instinct, one’s innate goodness

assert at appropriate moments to discard selfishness.

The stark truth testifies that Man is not born alone. With him or her many relations take

 birth. The very moment of such a creation fills many voids. Neither one dies alone. It is a

fiction of fine order that one comes alone and goes away lonely. When one goes many tales,

good or bad accompanies to the last moment that hangs heavy for many days thereafter.

Only mystics want to keep the world confined to self by such half-truths of a lonely soul.

The world is poorer by loosing many relationships with the passing away of one citizen.

With one such sad moment, hang many tales of rich experiences for the future generations to

remember. Even the ones most vilified in their times do have social relations to cherish!

It is a vivid world full of relationships in constant interaction with each other. One helps

make the other bloom and ethically richer by survival and this vivid interaction in so many

ways day and night. Society has evolved that way. It cannot be wished away by mere half-

truths to falsify.

The striking facet of our existence is that man, barring heretics, by nature remains social.

Only in social setting man exists as man and blooms. Without social interaction his or her 

 potent remains stale and sterile. Talent is a product of this social interaction and no one has

the right to expropriate this social additive. And money is a poor compensation in exchange

for this additive and cannot enrich either in substance.

However, in course of history this philosophy of ‘ individualism’ was brought to fore which

cuts at the very root of this social law by seeking to make man confined to self and weaving

relations to serve the powerful; getting crumbs in exchange. Man is facing this dualism. This

is the basic contradiction of social life to resole today.

Historical studies substantiate that it was industrial revolution, which had provided the

material ground to fashion ‘individualism’ as a systematic philosophy with individual, in

contrast to his family and the neighbourhood community as the focal point of interest.

Industry needed an independent worker, free from all social or emotional affiliations and

family encumbrances for a concentrated production spiral at the machine to his or her best

with least possible obligations in exchange. The basic unit for production was thus crafted as

a ‘free’ individual, though in a chain, still an individual to contribute.

 

With industrial mode, individualism is a necessary by-product. This society can hardly

afford. Let us recollect here that mere ‘stable property’ in private mode, exercised

collectively by family - labour earlier during pre-industrial phase, could not give shape to

individualism as a philosophy, different from the importance of individual in a community

setting it had. Though it is true that ‘individual ’ or private interest had started taking shape

much earlier in human history, but it could not give birth to individualism prior to industrial-

commercial nexus.

 Neither this individualism withered away substantially in Soviet Union merely with the

abolition of private property. With industrial mode at the centre of social production for long

74 years of experiment in socialist construction, individualism kept its flame glowing.

Rather, individualism worked more perniciously even within the portals of ‘communist’

 party there and almost in all other so-called socialist countries without exception.

This aspect is emphasized not to plead in any manner for private property but to clear ‘chaff 

from the grain’ and pinpoint the real culprit today in industrial mode of production for this

evil of individualism in society.