Individualism vs. Collectivism - Learn Liberty

Prof. Aeon Skoble claims that if we really care about the wellbeing of communities, we should keep in mind the unique and autonomous individuals that make it up. Each individual is deserving of respect and dignity, and should be free to pursue their own ends as long as they don't infringe upon the freedom of others. Although the concept of community is important, it does not warrant overlooking the individuals that comprise it.

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[BadMouseProductions]

What I'd argue is that by giving people the ability to be Individuals, we eventually become social, create communities and help one another.
We don't need to force one another to be social, it comes to us naturally.

[johngallagher]

There is no human collective without the human individuals

[museofchartreuse]

Well said, thank you. I completely agree! Also within a free society, individuals are permitted to form voluntary collectives, no one is stopping them.

[TheVideo]

You're right that you should think less about yourself, but collectivism NEVER works.

[abd-al-haqal-haqiqi]

individualism is the key to sucess even in a ruthless communist regim

[LucisFerre]

That's completely stupid. Libertarians know right well that there is no such thing as the right to violate rights because that contradiction would undermine the entire concept of rights. Since there is no such thing as the right to violate rights, then there can be no right to enslave.

[TheDragonAlduin]

People are too individualistic when they must gather together for greater goals but behave like herds of sheep when they must be individualistic.

[autodidactusplaysjrpgs]

You can't have it both ways. Claiming its reductionistic to say that people's social conditions determine their mental conceptions, but then turning around and saying that our individualism determines our social conditions. Our individualists are going to have to establish individual choice as a final cause before making this claim.

[wendellmcclore]

Thank you for this insightful explanation about collectivism and individualism. I believe they both have their advantages. It's about having a balance. It's good to acknowledge each other's talents, but not to the point of idol worship. 😀

[hellorhighwater]

This is great. There's such a turn against individualism at the moment but I believe that the term is often misused or collapsed with neo-liberalism and this explains it beautifully. Society can and must be formed around the it's constituent, autonomous, individuals. How can we talk about the emancipation of the collective without talking first about the freedom of the individuals that comprise it?

[Mijn]

They say America is an individualist nation - I see otherwise

[ErikSchneiderUSA]

This video almost perfectly defines Liberalism in its classical and real sense 

[LucisFerre]

Individualism is where the individual and individual rights are your primary value. Collectivism is where the collective is your primary value. Ergo in any collectivist system, there will be times when the collective or it's sundry leaders will want to sacrifice the individual and his rights for "the greater good" of the collective. Collectivism and individual rights are incompatible & irreconcilable. Time in the video would have been much better spent pointing this out.

[bkw]

In short: all people are both individualists and collectivists. You can't be purely one or the other. Deal with it.

[trustyshellback]

Don't confuse "state
capitalism" with free
enterprise. These two
paradigms are mutually
exclusive in that state
capitalism promotes
collectivism, but free
enterprise promotes
individualism.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
"The strongest argument
for free enterprise is that
it prevents anybody from
having too much power."
[Milton Friedman]
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
🇺🇸 Marc J. Metivier 🇺🇸

[richardhill]

Individualism is important, but the idea of choice is just a fantasy. The argument in favor of a liberal concept of individualism is dependent upon free will, the idea that there is a conscious, non-deterministic source of human behavior. This is utterly incompatible with modern neurobiology or even honest subjective experience.
In fact it's precisely because we can't choose who we are that individualism is important- we have a responsibility to express our individuality for the benefit of our community, and in return our community has a responsibility to provide us with the means to express our individuality to as great an extent as it can accommodate. Liberalism fails to provide either. Libertarian socialism affirms the importance of both.

[LucisFerre]

"Humility" is self humiliation. It's self immolation, the opposite of a rational sense of pride for having achieved ones accomplishments. Humility is never a virtue, as the alternative to humility is NOT arrogance.

[crazycasy]

Well said, as an individual you have the best of both worlds, if you want to be a communist or socialist, you cant get together and do it with other willing individuals, without forcing everyone else to go along..

[stevefuller]

People don’t really understand individualism these days. The individualist at its true form is the transcendentalist...that’s the true justification of being an individual. That being said (in a nutshell), you’re not a true individual unless you’re on your way of becoming a transcendentalist...because your mind is indeed highly influenced by external forces.
Ralph Emerson was saying just that...there needs to be a sense of understanding what an individual is...not just autonomy rubberish...The individual is about embracing one self, as well as learning, and understanding he/she fits into nature (not just society)

The ‘individual’ is not the ‘opposite’ of ‘collectivism’.

One of Emerson’s quote:
“The Man who renounces himself, comes to himself”

[madeline_parks]

It was more nation for Mussolini. Nation and ethnicity were seen as one in the same for Hitler but Mussolini didn't have as much emphasis on ethnicity as Hitler.