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Friday, January 31, 2020

On Blowhard Individualism

The irony is that every individualist is a member of some group. Everything that he says or does, either consciously or subconsciously, expresses the philosophy and aspirations of the group to which he belongs. He is united in common action with other members of the group. They think that they exist for their own sake. But they have no sense of the self. Outside their group of the self-proclaimed individualists, they have no identity.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I am glad that you used the term "most" in this post. I have belonged to the Libertarian party, but by some people within, I was excoriated over and over that I was not a REAL Libertarian. The entry into the political world by Donald Trump brought this to the fore. A Libertarian friend called me an idiot for supported Trump. I responded by suggesting truthfully that I did not think he would have called me that if he were actually sober. He immediately defriended me on FB. Truthful people are offensive. I simultaneously attended a local Objectivist group. I must admit I relate to that local group still as being open to questioning and which still searches for more information. There they have varying degrees of obeisance to all the principles. I was never able to sign the Libertarian pledge and thus never able to be 100%. That is true with my Objectivist friends as well. I was never 100%.
I do call myself an individualist. I have never fit into any group 100%. I have always felt that "no man is an island." My idea of individualism is that I get to choose individuals and/or collectives that I find useful to my getting along in this world. Twice I have partnered with other individuals in the process of hand manufactured goods. I currently informally belong to two collectives--both for entertaining purposes. One is a Second Line Band and the other is a dance collective. To return to my opening statement I am glad you used the word "most" in today's thoughts. I am not one of the "most" and likely will never be in the 100% category for any group or person.

Anoop Verma said...

Good points.