Liberty Democracy Capitalism Individualism Activism Extremism Terrorism

Hm. Nope. I don't buy it.

I mean, I don't buy the stress on the necessity to choose one extreme or the other- black or white.
In psychology, this is recognized as a method of rushing a subject to make a choice quickly, without reflection.
Salesmen use this technique to get people to buy without examining closely the product, or reading the small print.

My experience in life up to this point has repeatedly shown me that such extreme choices are not unavoidable, and that moderation is not only possible but usually the best solution to most problems.

There were some very serious holes in Ayn Rands vision, but no matter- we can all see them now- the "minds" need the matter too- and the nation of people who only value the engineers will eventually fall under the power of the nation which has the resources- human and material. In the end, debt is simply the acknowledgement of interdependance- we need each other, as individuals, as nations.

The individual benefits from being part of a collective, just as the collective benefits from the membership of the individual, they should be respectful of each other at some point.
Freedom, power, responsibility.... these all are associated and are aspects of the same thing.

The collectivist radicals carry the assumption that the collective would have a sense of responsibility and ethic, just as the individualist radicals carry the assumption that the individual would have a sense of responsibility and ethic.... both assume an opposing power to assert that is not necessary. Experience just shows us that is just not true!

Balance and moderation is so undervalued in the american culture. I think that creates a lot more drama, and strife.... but perhaps drama is exciting, and deep down, the american people wouldn't give it up for anything!

reply to post by Bluesma

I mean, I don't buy the stress on the necessity to choose one extreme or the other- black or white.

I completely agree actually, the answer to anything in life is balance. Individualism taken too far is obviously not a good thing because that's what creates self-serving psychopaths, but the group-mentality taken too far is not a good thing either because that's what creates religious cults and also what makes us trust our government more than we should. We are afraid that if were ask the hard questions about the sensitive issues that we will be disowned by our friends or family.

What I am promoting here is not an extreme form of individualism, I think many people are misunderstanding what I really mean when I talk about individualism. I'm simply saying that we need to pay a lot of attention to individual rights and freedoms, so that also means that I have to respect the individual rights and freedoms of other people. Highly regulated communistic societies don't offer a high level of individual rights and freedoms, in some cases you can't even chose what job you want to do.

Accepting our individuality and our differences doesn't mean we can't respect other other individuals. We should be allowed to embrace our individuality but also be proud of our nation or species, or what ever group we are a part of. That balance between individualism and group-thinking is important I agree. And societies such as the one described by the Venus Project don't provide that balance, they take idealized morals about what is the best thing to do for all people as a group, and it takes that group-mentality to the extreme.

I'm not saying we should just destroy the government or something and do away with all regulations so we can have a perfectly free market and every man is on his own. I'm just saying we should have the minimal amount of regulations possible, a balance between too many and not enough. Every day the regulations get longer and more complicated, and many of those regulations are specifically designed to benefit certain corporations. As business and government get closer and closer it continues to erode the foundations of the free market.

And as taxes get higher and higher it erodes the foundations of capitalism and individuality, in preference for a welfare state where everyone is taken care of regardless of what work they do. Now I can agree with some level of welfare and social security, but again I think balance is important. There's a certain point where it become plain old theft and it affects the productivity of hard working citizens who feel they are working for nothing. It undermines the whole premise of capitalism and stops it from working properly, which is bad for us all in the long run.