Beautifully written and well said. thank you <3 I feel exactly this way and I also believe that true joy, safety, growth, whatever societal good you can think of, it all relies on becoming the other, and holding each and every person. As a child i would go insane over the individualism I was taught (really, we were all gaslighted through), because everywhere I looked was fucking proof of the opposite. Today, I have great satisfaction. I see the lies clearly, and the proof of our social nature, evolutionary honed, everywhere. Every person lives only because millions worked together, in tandem, before. If we weren't social creatures, needing each other, thriving BECAUSE of each other, there would be no cities, no businesses, no nothing. We are cooperative by nature. why shackle that inevitability with false ideology? anyways ily
One of the initial points of contention I had with liberalism was the hyper-intense-focus of the individual, rather than the collective. So much of liberalism revolves around 'individual' liberties and freedoms, while failing to address the broader collective that truly represents the human heartbeat more than any individualized existence ever could. I can't tell you how much I've felt what you're speaking to in my own life as well. COVID in particular really escalated this hyper-individualist mindset for a lot of folks of needing to ensure that our individual needs are met first and foremost. I think a lot of folks forget the age old idea that when communities thrive, so too does the individual. The individual working together with the collective creates a pathway towards establishing that world which truly works for us all, whereas the individual constantly going through life alone is a detriment to not just themselves, but to us all because yes, we owe each other everything.
"There is nothing more threatening to the current order than for us to start to realize that we are one people and that we owe each other everything. If we started to treat a threat to one as a threat to all, there would be no stopping us."
If we could reach a place where this was truly a widely held belief, then I do agree that there would be no stopping us. An attack on one is an attack on all and I honestly feel like we got a small glimpse of that after the UHC CEO was killed. The collective solidarity for the countless people in this country who have been wronged by healthcare and insurance companies showed us that reaching that collective solidarity is possible and as John Smith so perfectly articulated at the end of his comment on this piece: "The will for solidarity is there, it just needs a means to articulate itself."
I laughed at the gods of the Protestant work ethic. I absolutely agree with everything you’ve said here, but I would also highlight a focus on meritocracy as a justification for being able to disregard the plight of others.
I think you already highlight many of the key arguments against meritocracy, I just believe it’s important to hyper focus on an anti-meritocratic language. People overwhelmingly believe meritocracy should be the deciding factor on what people deserve in life, rather than an intrinsic human right to economic security.
If you’re meritorious you deserve everything you have in life, and often what you have proves that you are meritorious. The reverse is also true. We justify people’s lot in life by assuming they earned it, or are a drain on the system that should be relegated to the dark corners of our world. You already highlight this in your piece of course. They can only be welcomed back if they choke themselves by their boot straps and die trying because surely they have no real hope of succeeding.
Though there is certainly intolerance, clanish siloing, and bigotry, both on the right as well as the left, I also feel that there is some cause for optimism. In the 80s and 90s, there was a real antipathy for welfare programs due largely to racism and the strain of narcissism that is American individuality -- a key component to the "Reagan Revolution" movement. It did indeed pit people against each other and propelled the toxic Horatio Alger fantasy you speak of.
The Welfare Queen/Siser Souljah wedging schtick played pretty well at the time, since it was directed particularly towards poor black women. But now that so many people are united in destitution and have a violent distaste towards such things as the privatized health insurance industry (eg, Luigi Mangione), it doesn't catch on so well.
It also explains why Bernie's ostensible promotion of populist causes has bipartisan support. Anyway, it seems a lot of people no longer buy into that kind of self-glorifying pluck and individuality to the extent they did in the past. We are no longer celebrating billionaires on shows like Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. The will for solidarity is there, it just needs a means to articulate itself.
Confusing individual identity with outright narcissism is not a popular concept hope. We are all individuals that are part of the social organism even if we don’t recognize it. We live in a paradox that strives for balance between the individual identity and the collective identity. We make adjustments and always will as long as there is humanity.
I like my individualism. I've enjoyed being alone since I was a child, and that was way before the Internet existed. I don't like other people very much, and IMO most people nowadays aren't worth a damn. That is neither a uniquely American idea, nor one that requires total isolation. I've lived with other people plenty, I've tried living with a partner several times - mostly those interactions involved being taken advantage of by some dumbass narcissist who refused to pull their own weight. I'm not going to give up on empathy completely, but I'm not going to let these internet-brained parasites suck me dry either. So I have no choice but to seek my future alone.
Should we refocus on growing our communities? Absolutely. But human beings did not evolve to handle a "community" that consists of half the globe. We need to find local communities and build from there. That also means finding people who aren't totally brainwashed by social media, and/or inclined to participate in cancel culture online hate mobs and the like. Those things aren't communities, but behavior modification by and for the oligarchy.
People are withdrawing from society and seeking satisfaction in temporary things because the world is fucked, our governments are utterly-corrupt authoritarian nightmares, and a handful of people own everything while using said government to oppress, imprison or kill us when we complain. Our societies are (by and large) dystopian nightmares. Finding a genuine relationship that is a true partnership is like panning for gold at this point. The only consolation is that many of the most toxic individuals no longer bother hiding their bigotry and stupidity, so they're somewhat easier to spot. The vast majority of internet "friends" - aren't. We collect people like baseball cards, we worship empty relationships because we crave real ones.
At least when the Vikings/Romans/Huns/etc. showed up at your doorstep, you knew where you stood. Our "civilization" needs an enema.
So thoughtful and contemplative!Greatly inspired by your great compassion for the mankind as a whole!
Beautiful as always Scarlet.
Beautifully written and well said. thank you <3 I feel exactly this way and I also believe that true joy, safety, growth, whatever societal good you can think of, it all relies on becoming the other, and holding each and every person. As a child i would go insane over the individualism I was taught (really, we were all gaslighted through), because everywhere I looked was fucking proof of the opposite. Today, I have great satisfaction. I see the lies clearly, and the proof of our social nature, evolutionary honed, everywhere. Every person lives only because millions worked together, in tandem, before. If we weren't social creatures, needing each other, thriving BECAUSE of each other, there would be no cities, no businesses, no nothing. We are cooperative by nature. why shackle that inevitability with false ideology? anyways ily
I absolutely loved this and found it so inspiring! Will definitely be reading more of your work
One of the initial points of contention I had with liberalism was the hyper-intense-focus of the individual, rather than the collective. So much of liberalism revolves around 'individual' liberties and freedoms, while failing to address the broader collective that truly represents the human heartbeat more than any individualized existence ever could. I can't tell you how much I've felt what you're speaking to in my own life as well. COVID in particular really escalated this hyper-individualist mindset for a lot of folks of needing to ensure that our individual needs are met first and foremost. I think a lot of folks forget the age old idea that when communities thrive, so too does the individual. The individual working together with the collective creates a pathway towards establishing that world which truly works for us all, whereas the individual constantly going through life alone is a detriment to not just themselves, but to us all because yes, we owe each other everything.
"There is nothing more threatening to the current order than for us to start to realize that we are one people and that we owe each other everything. If we started to treat a threat to one as a threat to all, there would be no stopping us."
If we could reach a place where this was truly a widely held belief, then I do agree that there would be no stopping us. An attack on one is an attack on all and I honestly feel like we got a small glimpse of that after the UHC CEO was killed. The collective solidarity for the countless people in this country who have been wronged by healthcare and insurance companies showed us that reaching that collective solidarity is possible and as John Smith so perfectly articulated at the end of his comment on this piece: "The will for solidarity is there, it just needs a means to articulate itself."
Great piece once again Scarlet!
I laughed at the gods of the Protestant work ethic. I absolutely agree with everything you’ve said here, but I would also highlight a focus on meritocracy as a justification for being able to disregard the plight of others.
I think you already highlight many of the key arguments against meritocracy, I just believe it’s important to hyper focus on an anti-meritocratic language. People overwhelmingly believe meritocracy should be the deciding factor on what people deserve in life, rather than an intrinsic human right to economic security.
If you’re meritorious you deserve everything you have in life, and often what you have proves that you are meritorious. The reverse is also true. We justify people’s lot in life by assuming they earned it, or are a drain on the system that should be relegated to the dark corners of our world. You already highlight this in your piece of course. They can only be welcomed back if they choke themselves by their boot straps and die trying because surely they have no real hope of succeeding.
Thanks for another great piece Scarlet!
Though there is certainly intolerance, clanish siloing, and bigotry, both on the right as well as the left, I also feel that there is some cause for optimism. In the 80s and 90s, there was a real antipathy for welfare programs due largely to racism and the strain of narcissism that is American individuality -- a key component to the "Reagan Revolution" movement. It did indeed pit people against each other and propelled the toxic Horatio Alger fantasy you speak of.
The Welfare Queen/Siser Souljah wedging schtick played pretty well at the time, since it was directed particularly towards poor black women. But now that so many people are united in destitution and have a violent distaste towards such things as the privatized health insurance industry (eg, Luigi Mangione), it doesn't catch on so well.
It also explains why Bernie's ostensible promotion of populist causes has bipartisan support. Anyway, it seems a lot of people no longer buy into that kind of self-glorifying pluck and individuality to the extent they did in the past. We are no longer celebrating billionaires on shows like Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. The will for solidarity is there, it just needs a means to articulate itself.
I wholeheartedly agree. My entire metaphysics is based on relational systems. Nothing can exist in isolation, let alone flourish.
Confusing individual identity with outright narcissism is not a popular concept hope. We are all individuals that are part of the social organism even if we don’t recognize it. We live in a paradox that strives for balance between the individual identity and the collective identity. We make adjustments and always will as long as there is humanity.
I like my individualism. I've enjoyed being alone since I was a child, and that was way before the Internet existed. I don't like other people very much, and IMO most people nowadays aren't worth a damn. That is neither a uniquely American idea, nor one that requires total isolation. I've lived with other people plenty, I've tried living with a partner several times - mostly those interactions involved being taken advantage of by some dumbass narcissist who refused to pull their own weight. I'm not going to give up on empathy completely, but I'm not going to let these internet-brained parasites suck me dry either. So I have no choice but to seek my future alone.
Should we refocus on growing our communities? Absolutely. But human beings did not evolve to handle a "community" that consists of half the globe. We need to find local communities and build from there. That also means finding people who aren't totally brainwashed by social media, and/or inclined to participate in cancel culture online hate mobs and the like. Those things aren't communities, but behavior modification by and for the oligarchy.
People are withdrawing from society and seeking satisfaction in temporary things because the world is fucked, our governments are utterly-corrupt authoritarian nightmares, and a handful of people own everything while using said government to oppress, imprison or kill us when we complain. Our societies are (by and large) dystopian nightmares. Finding a genuine relationship that is a true partnership is like panning for gold at this point. The only consolation is that many of the most toxic individuals no longer bother hiding their bigotry and stupidity, so they're somewhat easier to spot. The vast majority of internet "friends" - aren't. We collect people like baseball cards, we worship empty relationships because we crave real ones.
At least when the Vikings/Romans/Huns/etc. showed up at your doorstep, you knew where you stood. Our "civilization" needs an enema.