Individualism vs. Collectivism Is a Stupid Binary ｜ 12⧸12⧸24
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
140.97765
Summary
The evil doctrines of Marxism have infiltrated many institutions in the United States, leading conservatives to frame cultural and political battles as a contest between individualism and collectivism. But many past conservative thinkers have recognized this as a false binary. They understood that individualism, if left unchecked, can foster conditions that pave the way for tyranny. Lower order organic identities such as family, faith, and community have repeatedly proven to be the only effective forces against the imposition of top-down despotism.
Transcript
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We hope you're enjoying your Air Canada flight.
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Fast-free Wi-Fi means I can make dinner reservations before we land.
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Wi-Fi available to Airplane members on Equipped Flight.
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The evil doctrines of Marxism have infiltrated many institutions in the United States,
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leading conservatives to frame cultural and political battles
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as a contest between individualism and collectivism.
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Marxism as the ideology of communism promotes state-enforced equality
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where individual agency is subordinated to top-down notions of the collective good.
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But many past conservative thinkers have recognized this as a false binary,
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they understood that individualism, if left unchecked, can foster conditions that pave the way for tyranny.
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Lower-order organic identities such as family, faith, and community
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have repeatedly proven to be the only effective forces against the imposition of top-down despotism.
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The true battle isn't between individualism and collectivism,
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but between ordered liberty and disordered tyranny.
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In his classic work, Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville explored the rise of individualism
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during the democratic age following the American and French revolutions.
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De Tocqueville believed a democratic trajectory was inevitable for France
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and sought to understand how Americans had managed to curb its worst impulses.
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He observed that individualism often led people to focus solely on their own lives and interests,
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leaving them indifferent to the well-being of their neighbors and their communities.
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This lack of civic engagement, he argued, made it easier for despots to establish tyrannical rule.
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A despot thrives on individual apathy and the absence of civic virtue.
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Despotism, suspicious by its very nature, views the separation of men as the best guarantee of its own permanent rule
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and usually does all it can to keep them in isolation.
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No defect of the human heart suits it better than egoism.
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A tyrant is relaxed enough to forgive his subjects for failing to love him,
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He does not ask them to help him govern the state.
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It is enough that they have no intention of managing it themselves, end quote.
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So how did Americans preserve a spirit of individualism while avoiding its corrosive effects on civic life?
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For de Tocqueville, the answer lay in their impulse to build free institutions and engage in voluntary associations.
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He observed that Americans had an instinct to form committees,
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In the United States, individuals didn't need to be ruled by a powerful despot
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because the citizens were expected to actively contribute to the collective well-being of their community through voluntary efforts.
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This approach was individualistic in that it arose organically and wasn't compelled by the state,
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but it was also collectivist in that individuals felt a profound duty to their families, churches, and communities.
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Even when problems required government intervention, governance in America was primarily local.
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The national government remained small and local matters were handled by elected officials
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who were familiar with the specific character and needs of the community.
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American legislators did not believe that a general representation of the whole nation
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would be enough to cure a disease so natural to the frame of democratic societies and so fatal.
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They also thought it appropriate to give each area of the territory its own political life
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so as to multiply without limit the opportunities for citizens to act in concert
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and to let them realize every day their mutual dependence.
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the American system encouraged citizens to recognize their interdependence
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and address issues affecting their communities at a local level.
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The collective identity of the polis enabled them to resolve problems more effectively
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When I found out my friend got a great deal on a designer dress from Winners,
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I started wondering, is every fabulous item I see from Winners?
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Like that woman over there with the Italian leather handbag, is that from Winners?
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Ooh, or that beautiful silk skirt, did she pay full price?
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Even when government action was necessary, it was limited in scope,
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shaped by the community's identity and political structure.
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The state didn't need to enforce collectivity because communities formed naturally,
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allowing individualism to thrive without descending into tyranny.
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The greatest evidence of this principle can be found in the tactics used by communist regimes
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Marxists routinely advocate for the destruction of the family, church, and even ethnic identity
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because these lower order bonds obstruct the centralization of authority.
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As de Tocqueville observed, the isolated individual is more vulnerable to despotism.
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Totalitarian regimes seek to ensure that all relationships are mediated between the individual and the state,
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leaving each person dependent on the central authority for assistance and conflict resolution.
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By contrast, people bound by organic ties of faith, family, and community are far more likely
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When Western governments attempted to create biomedical security states in the wake of COVID-19,
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it was almost exclusively communities of faith that had the courage to resist.
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Religious groups possessed an identity and allegiance that extended beyond individual material benefit.
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This collective identity gave them both the courage and community support needed to stand firm
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These communities were able to defend their liberty because they exercised it collectively,
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The American tradition embodies individual liberty practiced in service to the collective good.
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It is a liberty ordered toward a higher purpose, pursued through the establishment of free institutions
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Framing our current opposition to Marxist dogma as a conflict between individualism and collectivism
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Instead, we need to understand that by practicing individual virtue in service to our organic communities,
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we can avoid the tyrannical state that Marxism prescribes.
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This ensures that liberty is not just a personal right, but a shared responsibility
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to uphold the well-being of our families, our faith, and our communities.
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