All dichotomies are false dichotomies to a degree. That is …

Y · August 5, 2024

All dichotomies are false dichotomies to a degree. That is most certainly also true for individualism/collectivism. This dichotomy implies (at least in the minds of many) that individualists can't possibly organize. That is obviously false. They just organize voluntarily and in the context of protecting individual rights. For the sake of argument we could call that cooperation (individualist organisation) as opposed to coercion (collectivist organisation). I don't think it is clear that collectivist organisation is necessarily more powerful than individualist organisation. But unfortunately it is still much more common. The entire successful part of US history was a victory of organized individualism over the forces of collectivism.

Replies

metamitya · August 5, 2024

This is exactly what I mean... my motivation, and the overriding reason for [[treechat]] existence, is to build the tools for what you call "cooperation" in opposition to "coercion"

metamitya · August 5, 2024

I don't agree though that US victory in WW2 was an example of this... it was just the American flavor of collectivism, or of [[managerial revolution]]

Y · August 5, 2024

Oh, absolutely. The US was well on its way to collectivism by that time. The communist seed of creating a federal government had already sprouted. I was referring to the earlier days and the economic system (a mixture of cooperation and competition in a free market).

metamitya · August 5, 2024

ah, i misunderstood