Evils of collectivism are just warming up. ‘Rugged individualism’ better be ready
New Year’s started with a bang: just hours after the ball dropped in New York City, its new mayor lauded the "warmth of collectivism," deriding America’s tradition of "rugged individualism."
Many under the age of 40 might mistakenly believe that what was meant was "warmth of community," but that is not what was said or meant. Socialists of all types call for collectivism as a political strategy (enforced conformity) and as a political end state (docile populace).
Collectivism is the entire subordination of the individual man, woman and family to the amorphous collective, not for the common good, but so that there are no disruptions to the master plans of the elites.
George Orwell, author of "Animal Farm" and "1984," wrote, "It cannot be said too often — at any rate, it is not being said nearly often enough — that collectivism is not inherently democratic, but, on the contrary, gives to a tyrannical minority such powers as the Spanish Inquisitors never dreamed of."
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Collectivism thinks of people like subjects or animals, not citizens. Collectivism subordinates the individual to the herd. Collectivist elites lack respect for the individual, the family and the local community. People are just pawns, or sheep, to be directed, used, manipulated and even disposed of on behalf of the master plans of elites.
Collectivism masquerades as an ethics where "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." That is a lie. In reality, collectivism is an immoral ethic that recognizes no rights except the right of the elite to rule and the responsibility of a docile populace to obey. Collectivist central planning always seeks to crush individuality, individual initiative, individual rights and individual property. Party elites entrenched in unaccountable bureaucracies decide where the rest of us get to live, send our children to school, and work.
We have the historical evidence of where collectivism leads: 100 million people murdered by collectivist communist regimes. Another 13 million were murdered directly by collectivism in its national socialist (Nazi) guise, and that doesn’t begin to count those who died in the war.
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If New York, or Seattle, Sacramento or Minneapolis, is on a path toward collectivism, we will see these tell-tale signs.
Political leaders will claim "the ends justify the means."
Some of your neighbors will lose their rights and property. Political leaders will label them as "enemies of the people" and justify brutal taxation, lawfare and the appropriation of their property as "for the common good."
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Over time, you will be invited to sublimate your own convictions and identity and sign on, in publicly symbolic ways, to the larger collective purpose.
How did we get to the point when a public official would mock the hardy, resilient, tough, rugged individualism that made America great? What is rugged individualism?
Rugged individualism is an ethic of personal responsibility; "I will do my best to meet my commitments and responsibilities, especially for myself, my family, and my community." Rugged individualism is not about atomized souls or predatory winners and losers. Rather, rugged individuals seek meaning through personal initiative and pre-political relationships such as marriage, parenthood, the workplace, religious communities and voluntary associations.
Rugged individuals make choices and, at times, make sacrifices for the good of their families, communities and country. We call this "self-sacrificial" giving, and it is a far cry from the crushing, involuntary sacrifices associated with collectivism. Moreover, it is the creativity of individuals that has made life better for the rest of us.
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What would we have done without the ingenuity and innovation of Benjamin Franklin, Jonas Salk, George Washington Carver, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and many, many others? Collectivist societies, such as the Soviet Union and Communist China, have to steal the innovative discoveries made by rugged individuals in free societies. There is no creativity in collectivism.
America faces socio-economic and political challenges, but the solutions will not be found in the centralized planning imposed on the public by an activist elite. Pope John Paul II, having lived under communism in Poland, observed, "The historical experience of socialist countries has sadly demonstrated that collectivism does not do away with alienation but rather increases it, adding to it a lack of basic necessities and economic inefficiency."
In contrast, Americans overcome challenges by the creativity, mobility and personal initiative of our citizenry. We do it at home, in the workplace, in our schools and universities, and in our local communities across a richly diverse nation. We should be robustly celebrating all of this at our 250th birthday this year.
For those who want to choose collectivism, please consider emigrating to Cuba or North Korea.