Do you ever feel like you are living someone else's life? Do you ever feel like you are being pressured or manipulated by others to do things that you don't want to do? Do you ever feel like you don’t want to be grouped together with other members of your “social group?” A famous quote from an influential revolutionary summarizes individualism well: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
Building on the Individual
Nowadays, the collectivist approach is very prevalent. Collectivism emphasizes “the goals of the group.” Collectivists declare that “the poor” must unite to overthrow “the rich.” They advocate treating people differently because of the color of their skin, their gender, or their religion. In the collectivist view, people are not valued based on the merit of their actions but based on superficial characteristics that they cannot influence. Human beings aren’t recognized as individuals but only as pawns that cannot think for themselves. Opposing this collectivist ethos stands individualism, a philosophy that views people first and foremost as unique individuals rather than members of a group. Every human being has an intrinsic value that cannot be taken away.
The fact that you can observe differences between groups cannot be denied. For instance, on average, women are more interested in people, whereas men are more interested in things. However, this does not mean that we should judge individuals solely based on what group they belong to. Libertarian and Austrian Economic deliberations always start from the lens of the individual acting. While they may examine how a situation affects a group of people, libertarians and Austrian Economists don’t center their arguments around how a policy affects “society.” After all, society consists of individuals that can make decisions independently. Each person has their own preferences, talents, as well as opinions, and they should be free to pursue them without being coerced and controlled by others. With consistent reasoning, those arguing for the rights of minorities would ultimately have to defend the individual since this is the smallest minority.
Ancient Ideas Applied Inconsistently
Although individualist ideas have been around for millennia, not every individual was seen as having intrinsic worth. Individual decision-making was reserved for small parts of the population, most people were seen as inferior and expendable. Greek philosophers challenged the authority and traditions of their societies and championed the rights and dignity of each person. They argued that one can only attain wisdom through individual thinking. Arguably, the most influential early advocates of the worth of the individual were Jesus and his disciples. Today, the Christian belief that everybody is made in the image of God and intrinsically valuable is deeply ingrained in Western culture.
During the Enlightenment, John Locke argued that political legitimacy is based on individual consent. He shaped the classical-liberal view of each person having natural rights to life, liberty, as well as property, and that the government's role is to protect these rights, not to violate them. He further supported the right of the people to rebel against a tyrannical government. Henry David Thoreau, who shaped individualist anarchism, advocated for individual resistance and civil disobedience. Accordingly, he refused to pay taxes because he did not want to finance an unjust government.
The Content of One’s Character
Although liberal democracies are built on the idea that the individual is the fundamental unit of civilization, this notion seems to be decreasingly prevalent in our fellows’ minds. Instead, the sentiment that people are owed reparations because of the color of their skin is surfacing (ignoring the fact that slavery was the default condition throughout various historical cultures). Human beings are not judged by their conduct but with their affiliation to a group. In addition to the moral abomination of this view, those supposedly disadvantaged individuals are held down if they aren’t encouraged to take ownership of their situation. They only ever get to hear that they can’t make it because they belong to a specific group. We went from the ideal of judgement by merit and character to hiring applicants specifically due to being part of an “oppressed” group. Diversity of superficial characteristics is sought; diversity of thought is disdained.
The Western world is drifting more and more towards a Brave New World where individual thought is despised and everybody belongs to everybody else. Nonetheless, while it is essential to judge individuals by their own character, we must not forget that partaking in the community is critical for individual meaning. Most thrive when they take responsibility, being a reliable support for others. The goal is to be a well-integrated part of a community that preserves the ability to reason independently.
Living an Individual Life
In a world valuing conformity, being an individual can be challenging. Individualists respect the dignity and autonomy of each human being. We believe that every fellow has the capacity to contribute with their unique capabilities. Further, we focus on pursuing a meaningful life for ourselves as well as our closest, and while we like to share our principles, we never advocate enforcing our style of living on others.
Assessing issues for ourselves and not blindly following other’s opinions, even if they were right in the past, is a foundation we build on. We, furthermore, do not change to fit in and please others, we take responsibility for our actions, and we stand up for our way of living. Nobody can tell us how to live life. We are unapologetically ourselves and focus on our own long-term well-being first so that we can continue contributing and sharing. Individuals aren’t judged by us solely based on their superficial appearance. Instead, we grant our fellows the right to express their own beliefs and are always open to entertaining different viewpoints in the marketplace of competing ideas.
Crossroads
Individualism, a foundational pillar of libertarian and Austrian Economic investigations, is a philosophy that celebrates the uniqueness and freedom of each person, teaching a principle that enhances modern societies where implemented: Respect the dignity and autonomy of each human being. While, throughout history, many have pronounced individualist ideas, the notions were seldom practiced consistently. Unfortunately, today, we are drifting away from judging individuals based on merit. If we cannot turn this around, our long-term future looks grim. Where have you experienced the strongest ignorance of individualist principles?
Think for yourself and question everything, my fellow liberty people!
You can’t ignore the fact that Corporatism is a collectivist tool granted private property rights with special privileges that violate individual rights, in combination with corruption by big government, we are living under the rule of The UniParty: big Gov + big Corp, a fascist oligarchy that betrays the Constitution and the people.
I have fun when people judge me.