१० जुलै, २०२०

That last post finally pushed me over the line to create a tag I've been thinking about for a while...

... "the attack on individualism."

The pressure was building after yesterday's post about Seattle's effort to teach its employees about their own "Internalized Racial Superiority," which is "defined by" — among other things — "individualism."

What pushed me over the line into new tag creation this morning was a criticism of women who fall into the "trap" of talking about their individual struggle with motherhood.

I went back into the archive and added the tag to a few old things:

June 19, 2020 — This is a quote from a review of the book "White Fragility": "'I am white and am addressing a common white dynamic,' DiAngelo explains. 'I am mainly writing to a white audience; when I use the terms us and we, I am referring to the white collective.' It is always a collective, because DiAngelo regards individualism as an insidious ideology. 'White people do not exist outside the system of white supremacy,' DiAngelo writes, a system 'we either are unaware of or can never admit to ourselves.'"

November 29, 2015 — I quoted the Tom Wolfe essay, "The 'Me' Decade and the Third Great Awakening":
"In Democracy in America, Tocqueville (the inevitable and ubiquitous Tocqueville) saw the American sense of equality itself as disrupting the stream, which he called 'time’s pattern': 'Not only does democracy make each man forget his ancestors, it hides his descendants from him, and divides him from his contemporaries; it continually turns him back into himself, and threatens, at last, to enclose him entirely in the solitude of his own heart.'... Tocqueville’s idea of modern man lost 'in the solitude of his own heart' has been brought forward into our time in such terminology as alienation (Marx), anomie (Durkheim), the mass man (Ortega y Gasset), and the lonely crowd (Riesman).... This victim of modern times has always been a most appealing figure to intellectuals, artists, and architects. The poor devil so obviously needs us to be his Engineers of the Soul, to use a term popular in the Soviet Union in the 1920s. We will pygmalionize this sad lump of clay into a homo novus, a New Man, with a new philosophy, a new aesthetics, not to mention new Bauhaus housing and furniture. But once the dreary little bastards started getting money in the 1940s, they did an astonishing thing—they took their money and ran. They did something only aristocrats (and intellectuals and artists) were supposed to do—they discovered and started doting on Me! They’ve created the greatest age of individualism in American history! All rules are broken! The prophets are out of business! Where the Third Great Awakening will lead—who can presume to say? One only knows that the great religious waves have a momentum all their own. Neither arguments nor policies nor acts of the legislature have been any match for them in the past. And this one has the mightiest, holiest roll of all, the beat that goes... Me... Me... Me... Me...."

December 17, 2012 — beginning with a philosophy professor who says "Our gun culture promotes a fatal slide into extreme individualism," I end up quoting Orwell's "1984": "We are the priests of power.... God is power. But at present power is only a word so far as you are concerned. It is time for you to gather some idea of what power means. The first thing you must realise is that power is collective. The individual only has power in so far as he ceases to be an individual. You know the Party slogan: 'Freedom is Slavery.' Has it ever occurred to you that it is reversible? Slavery is freedom. Alone— free — the human being is always defeated. It must be so, because every human being is doomed to die, which is the greatest of all failures. But if he can make complete, utter submission, if he can escape from his identity, if he can merge himself in the Party so that he is the Party, then he is all-powerful and immortal. The second thing for you to realise is that power is power over human beings. Over the body— but, above all, over the mind.... We control matter because we control the mind. Reality is inside the skull."

October 2, 2007 — I quoted Clarence Thomas's memoir: "It was around this time that I read Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. Rand preached a philosophy of radical individualism that she called Objectivism. While I didn't fully accept its tenets, her vision of the world made more sense to me that that of my left-wing friends. 'Do your own thing' was their motto, but now I saw that the individualism implicit in that phrase was superficial and strictly limited. They thought, for instance, that it was going too far for a black man to do his thing by breaking with radical politics, which was what I now longed to do. I never went along with the militant separatism of the Black Muslims, but I admired their determination to 'do for self, brother,' as well as their discipline and dignity. That was Daddy's way. He knew that to be truly free and participate fully in American life, poor blacks had to have the tools to do for themselves. This was the direction in which my political thinking was moving as my time at Holy Cross drew to an end. The question was how much courage I could muster up to express my individuality. What I wanted was for everyone -- the government, the racists, the activists, the students, even Daddy -- to leave me alone so that I could finally start thinking for myself."

August 15, 2006 — E.J. Dionne had written "Democrats claim to be more community-minded but act like radical individualists," and I asked, "do Democrats really want to disown individualism? Openly?"

May 16, 2004 — I wrote about singers in North Korea who are taught to use "the same movements and voice, so that the group would perform as 'one mind, one body.' 'The ideal... was to see one million people in a chorus singing the same song without a mistake. I think it's possible only in North Korea because we were trained since such a young age. It takes years to learn to smile the same way, to tilt the head the same way." One of those singers escaped to South Korea and said: "In South Korea, the audiences are spontaneous. If they don't like it, they'll just walk out. It they like it, they'll show their emotions. In North Korea, the audiences are mobilized, so they will clap systematically. They won't show their individual feelings, since to do that in the North is considered chaotic. In the South, the audiences show exactly what they are feeling at the moment. So I prefer performing here."

३२ टिप्पण्या:

Laslo Spatula म्हणाले...

The venerable Stalin quote sums it up: A Single Death is a Tragedy; a Million Deaths is a Statistic...

Putting individuals into the meat grinder is easier after you put them into a faceless collective first. Sausage for the omelette.

Know who respected the individual?

Ed Gein.

He didn't kill millions.

He wore people's skin one person at a time.

That is how a true American does it.

I am Laslo.

Kevin म्हणाले...

The left is always trying to push individuals into “collectives” which are the basis of “movements”.

It’s so much easier to manipulate the molecule if you can convince it to exist in a solid, rather than liquid or gaseous form.

iowan2 म्हणाले...

"attack on individualism"

Your examples are great. They give context to why this push and pull is occuring.

Conservatives hold personal responsibility in high regard. Leftist lecture me."you did not build that". Individual personal rights vs Collective Government power.

Collectivism, the collective, vs a small government closest to the people.

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

The Dems are showing the world that they are collectivists.

Laslo Spatula म्हणाले...

I do not wish to view Ed Gein through the prism of White Supremacy.

A lot of white people in Wisconsin, that's all.

I am Laslo.

Laslo Spatula म्हणाले...

I don't think skin color mattered to Ed Gein.

I think it was mostly about wearability and reasonable freshness.

I am Laslo.

Quayle म्हणाले...

The Latter-day Saint view is that our greatest gift from God is free will - our agency. And because it is the greatest gift, Satan desires us to abuse it in ways that diminish it, and ultimately give it away. Joseph Smith penned a revelation of lost parts of the Book of Moses in which God is explaining to Moses what took place in the great council of heaven before the world was formed and inhabited: “And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor. 2 But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever. 3 Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; 4 And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.” Satan wanted to ascend and rule over everyone and didn’t care if he destroyed their free will, he wanted to rule.

I guess there are such eternal principals and people that follow them.

Alan म्हणाले...

A recurring theme in Koestler's "Darkness at Noon" is the communist insistence that the first person singular is a grammatical fiction. When I re-read it a few weeks ago I thought that notion somewhat far-fetched. Not any more.

mockturtle म्हणाले...

Just wait until we are all injected with brain-altering nanobots!

Jeff Brokaw म्हणाले...

Individualism is another word for Liberty — the freedom to live your life as you see fit, “the pusuit of happiness” — which of course is the foundational basis for our country, so yeah, you’re gonna find it all over the place in America, at least in the places where people still respect our culture, traditions, and history.

Sebastian म्हणाले...

Now, do a critique.

For example, how does the attack on individualism fit with the traditional defense of abortion rights based on women's autonomy? Or, for that matter, with all basic civil rights?

Susan म्हणाले...

You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

Birkel म्हणाले...

Who has been calling them Leftist Collectivists this whole time?
Where did that commenter go and why is he correct so often?

Perhaps that guy has insights that get us there more quickly.
Maybe people should pay attention.

tcrosse म्हणाले...

A few years back I attended an opera performance in Budapest. At the end, the audience applauded rhythmically in unison. That's what 40 years of collectivism will do.

narciso म्हणाले...

abortion collapses the family, which is the foundation of the individuals defense against the state and manifold prog elements, 'barely an inconvenience,' as the catch phrase goes,

Michael K म्हणाले...

Why do you think gun sales are through the roof?

mockturtle म्हणाले...

Any time the 'greater good' is deemed worthier than the rights of the individual, you have, at best, collectivism and, at worst, totalitarianism.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne म्हणाले...

June 19, 2020 — This is a quote from a review of the book "White Fragility": "'I am white and am addressing a common white dynamic,' DiAngelo explains. 'I am mainly writing to a white audience; when I use the terms us and we, I am referring to the white collective.' It is always a collective, because DiAngelo regards individualism as an insidious ideology. 'White people do not exist outside the system of white supremacy,' DiAngelo writes, a system 'we either are unaware of or can never admit to ourselves.'"

Rogan interviewed James Lindsey a few days ago. Lindsey opined that DiAngelo's book seemed to him to be based in problems DiAngelo herself had with racism, not problems society in general has with racism. It makes me wonder if the push against individualism comes from some narcissistic mindset that believes that society needs to totally change to better prop people like DiAngelo up emotionally.

Leland म्हणाले...

I'm glad you included the Clarence Thomas comment on Ayn Rand. I think she had it right, which is not to say I'm a Libertarian, because I think the Party doesn't understand Rourke or Galt. Rourke and Galt did what they wanted to do as individuals. They were not swayed by the pressure of others nor did they actively try to persuade others. Media is the exact opposite, and I don't mean modern media. Read Fountainhead and its story is as fresh as if it was telling current events.

Jeff Brokaw म्हणाले...

“greater good”

Pol Pot thought it was for the “greater good” to slaughter anyone who was educated, or even wearing glasses. His legacy is the pile of skulls picture and 2M dead.

How exactly is this latest round of lefty loon Progressive bullshit any different? Earlier in the timeline, that’s about it.

Birds of a feather with Pol Pot, congrats. They supported him then, and now they’re turning into him.

Anyone still think it’s not harmful to us as a nation to brainwash students with anti-American lies in public schools and universities?

Achilles म्हणाले...

Birkel said...
Who has been calling them Leftist Collectivists this whole time?
Where did that commenter go and why is he correct so often?

Perhaps that guy has insights that get us there more quickly.
Maybe people should pay attention.


Just a pedantic aside. I think I know who you are referring to. I don't think leftist collectivist is the underlying definition of these people though.

Goals. Strategies. Tactics.

Collectivism is a tool. A strategy.

Collective guilt, shame, and victimhood are tactics. Feminism. Racism.

Power and control are the goals.

Everything they do boils down to power and control. Stealing individual agency is just a step on their path. I actually don't think they would mind micromanaging their tyranny. They just don't have the skills to pull it off.

Statist seems to be their core. Fascist also works.

DavidD म्हणाले...

“The individual is the smallest minority.”

Freeman Hunt म्हणाले...

I like this new tag.

The recent conversation between Glenn Loury and John McWhorter about White Fragility was entertaining.

Bilwick म्हणाले...

Leland wrote: "Read Fountainhead and its story is as fresh as if it was telling current events."

Indeed. Nearly every day I see something that could be Ellsworth Toohey manipulating the media. (See "The Gallant Gallstone," a Toohey-promoted parable on the evils of individualism.)
The main difference is that Toohey was too smart to believe the snake-oil he was peddling. Those who did buy into it were his Useful Idiots.

mockturtle म्हणाले...

Re-read Atlas Shrugged last year and plan to re-read The Fountainhead soon. Ayn Rand has been one of my heroes since high school when my first husband-to-be and I delved headlong into her philosophy. Leland is right about the Libertarian Party. My brief experience with them has been a disappointment as they seemed most interested in legalizing recreational drugs. And no, Ayn Rand would never have sanctioned a political party based on her principles.

Krumhorn म्हणाले...

When the police searched Ed Gain’s house, they found a box containing close to ten vulvae. I always wondered about that since I have my hands full with the one vulva that my wife generally keeps with her. Ed was a collectivist, so he reduced the value of each of the women to whom those belonged to the box containing his collection. I much prefer the individualism of my wife.

- Krumhorn

Birkel म्हणाले...

Freeman Hunt,
How has your effort to give an inch treated you?
Are you happy with the mile that was taken?

Joanne Jacobs म्हणाले...

In Ayn Rand's Anthem, the use of "I" has been banned and then forgotten.

mtrobertslaw म्हणाले...

Collectivism is based on the the philosophy of the ant hill. Individualism is based on the philosophy of freedom. Take your pick.

Bilwick म्हणाले...

"Collectivism is based on the the philosophy of the ant hill. Individualism is based on the philosophy of freedom. Take your pick."--mtrobertslaw

"Easy! I pick ant hill!" --Inga, Howard and the collective voice of the Stupid/Crazy Left. (The older, smarter, less deranged Left believed the same claptrap, but were more subtle about it.)

Bilwick म्हणाले...

Krumhorn, I could be wrong, but that Ed Gein sounds like a real jerk.

mockturtle म्हणाले...

And didn't Hillary write, It Takes an Anthill?