| The Liberalism series, part of the Politics series |
|---|
|
Development
Schools
Ideas
Thinkers
Regional variants
Organizations
|
| Portal:Politics |
| Part of the series on |
 |
|
Schools of thought
Origins
Ideas
Topics
Related
|
Philosophy Portal| Part of the Philosophy series on |
 |
|
Theory and practice
Culture
Related
Anarchism Portal |
Individualism is a term used to describe a moral, political, or social outlook that stresses human independence and the importance of individual self-reliance and liberty. Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal This is a partial list of individual contributions to liberal political theory on a worldwide scale Modern liberalism in the United States, also referred to as American liberalism, is a political ideology that seeks to use the power of the state to effect change upon society Classical liberalism (also known as traditional liberalism, Laissez-faire liberalism, Market liberalism or in much of the world Conservative liberalism is a variant of Liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances or more simply representing the right-wing National liberalism is a variant of liberalism combining Nationalism with some liberal policies especially regarding Economic liberalism Economic liberalism is the Economic component of Classical liberalism. Libertarianism is a term used by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which prioritize individual Liberty and seek to minimize or even abolish the Originally coined by its critics and opponents " neoliberalism " is a label referring to the recent reemergence of Economic liberalism or Classical liberalism Ordoliberalism (also called German neoliberalism) is a school of Liberalism emphasizing the need for the state to ensure that the Free market produces results Paleoliberalism is a term that has at least a few distinct meanings all relating to Liberalism. Social liberalism, also called new liberalism (as it was originally termed high liberalism radical liberalism, modern liberalism, or Cultural liberalism is a liberal view of society that stresses the freedom of individuals from cultural norms Political freedom is the absence of interference with the sovereignty of an individual by the use of coercion or aggression Individual rights refer to the Rights of Individuals in contrast with Group rights. Laissez-faire ( pronunciation: French,; English,) is a French phrase literally meaning Let do (“allow to do” The term "liberal" in "liberal democracy" does not imply that the government of such a democracy must follow the political ideology of Liberal neutrality is the idea that the liberal state should not promote any particular 'conception of the good' The concept of negative liberty refers to freedom from interference by other people ||-||} Positive liberty refers to the opportunity and ability to act to fulfill one's own potential as opposed to Negative liberty, which refers to freedom from Liberty, the freedom to act or believe without being stopped by unnecessary force A free market is a Market in which property rights are voluntarily exchanged at a price arranged completely by the mutual consent of sellers and buyers Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where A mixed economy is an Economic system that incorporates aspects of more than one economic system The open society is a concept originally developed by philosopher Henri Bergson. Popular sovereignty or the sovereignty of the people is the belief that the legitimacy of the State is created by the will or consent of its people, who A right is a legal or moral Entitlement or Permission. Rights are of vital importance in theories of Justice and deontological ethics John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704 was an English Philosopher. John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 &ndash 8 May 1873 British Philosopher, political economist, civil servant and Member of Parliament, was an influential Friedrich August von Hayek CH ( May 8, 1899 March 23, 1992) was an Austrian British Economist Milton Friedman (July 31 1912 November 16 2006 was an American Nobel Laureate Economist and Public intellectual. John Rawls ( February 21, 1921 &ndash November 24, 2002) was an American Philosopher, a Professor of This article gives information on liberalism in diverse countries around the world A general overview and comprehensive discussion of this topic may be found in the article Liberalism. Liberalism in the United States is a broad political and philosophical mindset favoring individual Liberty, and opposing restrictions on liberty whether they come from Liberal International is a Political international for liberal parties. The International Federation of Liberal Youth ( IFLRY) is an international liberal youth organization The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (founded in 1993 is a liberal party, mainly active in the European Union, composed of 55 national parties from across The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe ( French: Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour l'Europe) is an alliance between two European political parties European Liberal Youth (LYMEC - Liberal and Radical Youth Movement of the European Community is an international organisation of Liberal youth movements - mostly the youth The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats is a regional organization of liberal and democratic political parties in Asia The Africa Liberal Network (ALN is an organization composed of 16 political parties from 14 African nations and is an associated organisation of Liberal The Liberal Network for Latin America ( Red Liberal de América Latina RELIAL) is an international network founded in 2003 with the official launch taking place in Costa Rica Libertarianism is a term used by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which prioritize individual Liberty and seek to minimize or even abolish the Agorism is an anarchist Political philosophy founded by Samuel Edward Konkin III that holds the ultimate goal as bringing about a society in which Anarcho-capitalism (also known as Free-market anarchism) is an individualist anarchist Political philosophy that advocates the elimination Autarchism (from Greek, "belief in self rule" is a Political philosophy that upholds the principle of Individual liberty, rejects compulsory Christian libertarianism should not be confused with Libertarian Christianity. Geolibertarianism is a Political movement that strives to reconcile Libertarianism and Georgism (or geoism) Green libertarianism is a Political philosophy that has developed in the United States. Individualist anarchism refers to any of several traditions that hold that "individual conscience and the pursuit of self-interest should not be constrained by any collective Left-libertarianism (or left-wing libertarianism) is a term that has been adopted by several different libertarian political movements and theorists Libertarian socialism is a group of political philosophies that aim to create a society without political economic or social hierarchies – a society in which all violent Individualist feminism (sometimes also grouped with libertarian feminism or ifeminism) is a term for feminist ideas which seek to celebrate Free-market anarchism (sometimes called market anarchism) refers to an Individualist anarchist Philosophy that harmonizes the abolition of the state with Market socialism is a term used to denote two different Economic system (s based in Socialism which operate according to Market principles In Civics, minarchism, sometimes called minimal Statism, small government, or limited-government Libertarianism Mutualism, is an Anarchist school of thought, can be traced to the writings of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon that envisioned a society where each person might possess a Neolibertarianism is a political philosophy combining elements of Libertarian and Neoconservative thought that embraces Incrementalism domestically Paleolibertarianism is a school of thought within American Libertarianism founded by Lew Rockwell and Murray Rothbard, and closely associated Right-libertarianism or right libertarianism is a phrase used to either describe non- Collectivist forms of Libertarianism or a variety of different libertarian Voluntaryism is a Philosophy that opposes anything that it sees as unjustifiably invasive and Coercive. Objectivism is a Philosophy developed by Ayn Rand in the 20th century that encompasses positions on Metaphysics, Epistemology, The Austrian School, also known as the “ Vienna School ” or the “ Psychological School ” is a heterodox school of economics that advocates Classical liberalism (also known as traditional liberalism, Laissez-faire liberalism, Market liberalism or in much of the world Individualist anarchism refers to any of several traditions that hold that "individual conscience and the pursuit of self-interest should not be constrained by any collective thumb| |Broken Liberty Istanbul Archaeology Museum Civil liberties are freedoms that protect the Individual from the Government. Counter-economics is a term originally coined by Samuel Edward Konkin III, a radical Libertarian activist and theorist who defined it as " the study and/or Decriminalization is the reduction or abolition of criminal penalties in relation to certain acts but regulated permits or fines might still apply (for contrast Economic freedom is freedom to produce trade and consume any goods and services acquired without the use of force fraud or theft A free market is a Market in which property rights are voluntarily exchanged at a price arranged completely by the mutual consent of sellers and buyers Free trade is a system in which the trade of goods and services between or within countries flows unhindered by government-imposed restrictions The question of free will Freedom of contract or contractualism is the idea that individuals should be free to bargain among themselves the terms of their own contracts without government interference The homestead principle (or original appropriation) is part of libertarian and anarcho-capitalist Ethics. Humanism is a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appealing to universal Methodological individualism is a philosophical method aimed at explaining and understanding broad society-wide developments as the aggregation of decisions by individuals Laissez-faire ( pronunciation: French,; English,) is a French phrase literally meaning Let do (“allow to do” Liberty, the freedom to act or believe without being stopped by unnecessary force A night watchman state, or a minimal state, is a Form of government in Political philosophy where the government's responsibilities are so minimal they The non-aggression principle (also called the non-aggression axiom, anticoercion principle, or zero aggression principle) is a Deontological Nonintervention or non-interventionism is a foreign policy which holds that political rulers should avoid alliances with other nations and avoid all wars not related to direct Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual Self-governance is an abstract concept that refers to several scales of Organization. Self-ownership (or sovereignty of the individual, individual sovereignty or individual autonomy) is the moral or natural right (aka Freedom of a person The subjective theory of value (or theory of subjective value) is an economic theory of value that holds that "to possess value an object must be both useful A tax resister resists or refuses payment of a Tax because of opposition to the institution collecting the tax or to some of that institution’s policies The libertarian movement consists of the various individuals and institutions who expound or promote the ideas and causes of Libertarianism. Libertarianism is a Political philosophy that emphasises the Liberty of the individual and seeks to minimize or even abolish the State. Many countries and subnational political entities have libertarian political parties. Libertarian theories of law build upon classical liberal and individualist anarchist doctrines Adherents of different ideologies have criticized Libertarianism for various reasons Civil libertarianism is a strain of political thought that supports Civil liberties, or who emphasizes the supremacy of Individual rights and Personal freedoms For the revolt in Brazil, see Constitutionalist Revolution. The term Constitutionalism is a word with a variety of meanings A libertarian Democrat is a person who subscribes to libertarian philosophy while typically voting for and being involved with the United States Democratic Party. A libertarian Republican (LR is a person who subscribes to libertarian philosophy while typically voting for and being involved with the United States Republican Party Libertarian transhumanism is a Political philosophy synthesizing Libertarianism and Transhumanism. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i Anarchism is a Political philosophy with many heterogeneous and diverse schools of thought, united by a common opposition to compulsory Some observers believe certain Buddhist teachings form a philosophical ground for Anarchism. Anarcho-capitalism (also known as Free-market anarchism) is an individualist anarchist Political philosophy that advocates the elimination Christian anarchism is any of several traditions which combine Anarchism with Christianity. Collectivist anarchism (also known as anarcho-collectivism) is an umbrella term embracing two Anarchist schools of thought the first school is Socialist Crypto-anarchism is an Ideology that expounds the use of strong Public-key cryptography to enforce Privacy and individual freedom. Anarcha-feminism (also called anarchist feminism and anarcho-feminism) combines Anarchism with Feminism. Green anarchism is a school of thought within Anarchism which puts an emphasis on Environmental issues. Individualist anarchism refers to any of several traditions that hold that "individual conscience and the pursuit of self-interest should not be constrained by any collective Infoanarchism is an Umbrella term for various groups of people who are opposed to forms of Intellectual property, such as Copyright and Patents Insurrectionary anarchism is a revolutionary theory practice and tendency within the Anarchist movement which opposes formal anarchist organizations such as labor unions and Left anarchism or left-wing anarchism refers to forms of anarchism that are seen by some on the ' left of politics ' Anarcho-pacifism (also pacifist anarchism or anarchist pacifism) is a form of Anarchism which completely rejects the use of Violence in Philosophical anarchism is an Anarchist school of thought which contends that the State lacks moral legitimacy but does not advocate revolution to eliminate Platformism is a tendency within the wider Anarchist movement which shares an affinity with organising in the tradition of Dielo Truda's Organizational Platform Post-anarchism or postanarchism is the term used to represent anarchist philosophies developed since the 1980s using post-structuralist and Post-left anarchy is a recent current in Anarchist thought that promotes a critique of anarchism's relationship to traditional leftism. Anarcho-primitivism is an anarchist critique of the origins and progress of Civilization. Social anarchism, socialist anarchism, anarcho-socialism, anarchist socialism or Communitarian anarchism,(sometimes used interchangeably with Anarcho-syndicalism is a branch of Anarchism which focuses on the labour movement. Anarchism without adjectives (from the Spanish " anarquismo sin adjetivos " in the words of historian George Richard Esenwein "referred to an An Anarch is a Conservative Revolutionary ideal of a sovereign individual, conceived by Ernst Jünger. Anarchy (from αναρχία anarchía, "without ruler " may refer to any of the following "Absence of government a state of lawlessness A black bloc is made up largely of anarchists or autonomists, anti-capitalist individuals or groups that gather for protests demonstrations or other event Traditionally the revolutionary left sees the commune as a populist replacement for the elitist parliament Consensus democracy is the application of Consensus decision making to the process of legislation in a Democracy. __FORCETOC__ Decentralization or Decentralisation (see Spelling differences) is the process of dispersing Decision-making governance closer to the people Deep ecology is a recent branch of ecological Philosophy ( Ecosophy) that considers Humankind an integral part of its environment. Direct action is political action which happens outside normal political channels via indirect actions such as electing representatives. Direct Democracy is a movement within the British Conservative Party dedicated to localism and Constitutional reform as a means of reviving public Dual power is a concept first articulated in an article by Lenin, "The Dual Power" ( dvoevlastie) which described a situation in the wake of the February Especifismo (English specifism is one of the two main forms of anarchist activism championed by FARJ (Federação Anarquista do Rio de Janeiro and other South American anarchist organizations Horizontalidad ( Eng: horizontality or horizontalism) is a theory or system that advocates the creation development and maintenance of social structures Not to be confused with the concept of "popular illegalisms" created by Michel Foucault in Discipline and Punish. Individual reclamation ( Fr: reprise individuelle) is a form of the Direct action, characterized by the individual theft of resources from the rich by the Anarchist law refers to a series of ongoing debates within the various branches of Anarchist theory regarding if and how norms of individual and/or collective behavior Participatory Politics or Parpolity is a theoretical political system proposed by Stephen R A Permanent autonomous zone (or a PAZ) is a Community that is autonomous from the generally recognized Government or authority structure in which The term prefigurative politics is widespread within various activist movements and in short it describes modes of organization and tactics undertaken that accurately reflect the future Propaganda of the deed (or propaganda by the deed, from the French propagande par le fait) is a Concept that promotes physical violence against Refusal of work is a concept that has been advocated at various times by many social activist groups mostly located on the Libertarian left. Pleistocene Rewilding Rewilding is the process of creating a lifestyle that is beyond Domestication. Social Ecology is a philosophy developed by French geographer and anarchist Élisée Reclus and revived by Murray Bookchin in the 1960s See also the closely related articles Emergence and Self-organization. Anarchism is a heterogeneous philosophy with many different tendencies and schools of thought; differences on questions of ideology values and tactics are common This article discusses similarities and differences between Anarcho-capitalism and other types of Anarchism. The anarchist philosophical and political movement has some connections to elements of the Animal liberation movement. Though some Anarchists advocate free-market, Laissez-faire Capitalism, other anarchists oppose capitalism to varying degrees Criticisms of anarchism originate from the interest groups it opposes as well as related theories such as Marxism. Although anarchists commonly reject Organized religion (see Anarchism and religion) there have been numerous traditions within Islam (often associated with Sufism Anarchism and Marxism are related political philosophies which emerged in the nineteenth century Anarchism and nationalism both emerged in Europe following the French Revolution and have a long and complicated While there is no organized Orthodox Jewish anarchist movement, various anarchistic ideas are common in the works of many Kabbalists and Hasidic teachers Anarchists have traditionally been skeptical of and opposed to Organized religion. Anarchism and violence have become closely connected in popular thought in part because of a concept of " Propaganda of the deed " Originating in the Greek language ( αρχή "arche" means "beginning origin outset prime principle start threshold" the term "anarchy" The Amakasu Incident occurred on September 16, 1923, in the chaos immediately following the Great Kantō earthquake. Anarchist Catalonia ( July 21, 1936 – February 10, 1939) was the self-proclaimed Stateless territory and Anarchist The Anarchist Exclusion Act refers to two different acts passed by the United States Congress intended to keep immigrants that subscribed to anarchist ideas Somalia, from 1991 to present is cited as a real-world example of a Stateless society and legal system The Australian Anarchist Centenary Celebrations occurred on the 1st to the 4th of May 1986 in Melbourne, Australia. Barcelona May Days is a term covering the events between May 3 and May 8 1937, when factions on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil The Global Carnival Against Capital took place on Friday June 18, 1999. La Escuela Moderna ( Spanish for "The Modern School" was a progressive school that existed briefly at the start of the 20th century in Catalonia ( The Hague Congress was the Fifth congress of the International Workingmen's Association (IWA held in (September 1872) in The Hague Holland which anarchists consider The, also known as the, was a Socialist - Anarchist plot to assassinate the Japanese Emperor Meiji in 1910 leading to a mass arrest of leftists and the execution The International Anarchist Congress of Amsterdam took place from 24 August to 31 August, 1907. The Kate Sharpley Library (or KSL) is a Library dedicated to anarchist texts and History. This article is about the historical event known as the Kronstadt rebellion The Labadie Collection at the University of Michigan is recognized as one of the world’s most complete collections of materials documenting the history of Anarchism LIP is a French clock company whose turmoil became emblematic of the conflicts between workers and management in France For other events in May 1968 see 1968. May Day occurs on May 1 and refers to any of several Public holidays In many countries May Day is synonymous with International Workers' Day, or Labour The Paris Commune (La Commune de Paris was a Government that briefly ruled Paris from 18 March (more formally from 26 March) to 28 May Provo was a Dutch Counterculture movement in the mid-1960s that focused on provoking violent responses from authorities using non-violent bait The Red inverted triangle was the badge that political prisoners in Nazi Concentration camps had to wear The Spanish Revolution of 1936 began during the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. Third Russian Revolution (also know as the Left Wing Rebellions Against the Bolsheviks) was a series of Rebellions and uprisings against the Bolsheviks Tragic Week (in Catalan la Setmana Tràgica, in Spanish la Semana Trágica) ( July 25 - August 2, 1909) is the Protest activity surrounding the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999, which was to be the launch of a new millennial round of Trade negotiations occurred Anarcho-punk is a faction of the Punk subculture that consists of bands groups and individuals promoting anarchist politics Anarchism has long had an association with the Arts, particularly in music and literature Black anarchism opposes the existence of the State and the subjugation and domination of people of color and favors a non-hierarchical organization of society Celtic anarchism is a new tendency within the larger Anarchist movement A precise definition of culture jamming is elusive It has been called a Resistance movement to Cultural hegemony, whereas some say the defining theme of culture jamming DIY (or Do It Yourself culture is a broad term that refers to a wide range of Grassroots political activism Freeganism is an anti-consumerist lifestyle whereby people employ alternative living strategies based on "limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption The Independent Media Center (aka Indymedia or IMC) is a global participatory network of journalists that reports on political and social issues An infoshop is a storefront or Social center that serves as a node for the distribution of Anarchist information typically in the form of books Zines, The Internationale ( L'Internationale in French) is a famous socialist, communist, and Social-democratic Jewish anarchism is a general term encompassing various expressions of Anarchism within the Jewish community Lifestyle anarchism is a term derived from Murray Bookchin 's polemical essay " Social Anarchism Or Lifestyle Anarchism An Unbridgeable Chasm. Popular education is at the crossroads between Politics and Pedagogy, and strongly relies on the democratic ideal of the Enlightenment, which considered Radical cheerleading is a form of Cheerleading that originated in Florida, but has now spread across the United States as well as Canada Radical environmentalism, is a grassroots branch of the larger Environmental movement that emerged out of an Ecocentrism -based frustration with the co-option of mainstream Squatting is the act of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or Building that the squatter does not own rent or otherwise have permission to use While anarchists have historically largely denied the importance of Symbols to political movement anarchists have embraced certain symbols for their cause " To The Barricades " ( A Las Barricadas) was one of the most popular songs of the Spanish anarchists during the Spanish Civil War. Anarchist economics is the set of theories and practices of economic activity within the political philosophy of Anarchism. Agorism is an anarchist Political philosophy founded by Samuel Edward Konkin III that holds the ultimate goal as bringing about a society in which Anarcho-capitalism (also known as Free-market anarchism) is an individualist anarchist Political philosophy that advocates the elimination Collectivist anarchism (also known as anarcho-collectivism) is an umbrella term embracing two Anarchist schools of thought the first school is Socialist Counter-economics is a term originally coined by Samuel Edward Konkin III, a radical Libertarian activist and theorist who defined it as " the study and/or Free-market anarchism (sometimes called market anarchism) refers to an Individualist anarchist Philosophy that harmonizes the abolition of the state with A free school, sometimes intentionally spelled free skool, is a decentralized network in which skills information and knowledge are shared without Hierarchy or the Give-away shops, freeshops, or free stores are second-hand stores where all goods are free "Georgist" redirects here For the Romanian political group see National Liberal Party-Brătianu. A gift economy is a Social theory in which goods and services are given without any explicit agreement for immediate or future Quid pro quo. Market abolitionism is a belief that the market, in the economic sense should be completely eliminated from society Mutual aid is a term in Political economy used to signify the economic concept of voluntary reciprocal exchange of resources and services for mutual benefit Mutualism, is an Anarchist school of thought, can be traced to the writings of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon that envisioned a society where each person might possess a Participatory economics, often abbreviated parecon, is a proposed Economic system that uses participatory decision making as an economic mechanism The Really Really Free Market ( RRFM) movement is a non- hierarchical collective of individuals who form a temporary Market based on an alternative Self-ownership (or sovereignty of the individual, individual sovereignty or individual autonomy) is the moral or natural right (aka Freedom of a person Social anarchism, socialist anarchism, anarcho-socialism, anarchist socialism or Communitarian anarchism,(sometimes used interchangeably with Anarcho-syndicalism is a branch of Anarchism which focuses on the labour movement. Wage slavery is a term first coined by the Lowell Mill Girls in 1836 though articulated as a concept at least as early as Cicero and elaborated by subsequent thinkers Worker self-management (or autogestion) is a form of workplace decision-making in which the workers themselves agree on choices (for issues like customer care general production This is a list of anarchist movements by region, both geographical and/or political Anarchism in Africa refers both to purported anarchic political organization of some traditional African societies and to modern Anarchist movements in Africa The powerful Radical faction of Austria-Hungary 's Social Democratic Party was anarchist in all but name until 1884 and anarchist ideas penetrated deeply Anarchism was an influential contributor to the social politics of '''Brazil''''s Old Republic. Anarchism in Canada spans a range of anarchist philosophy including Anarcho-syndicalism, Individualist anarchism, green anarchy and Anarchist The origins of Chinese Anarchism are traceable to the early Chinese Nationalist movement Anarchism as a social movement in Cuba held great influence with the Working classes during the 19th and early 20th century Anarchism in France dates from the 18th century Many Anarchists such as the Egalitarians took part in the French Revolution. evolution of Anarchism in Greece has shown a series of historical paradoxes which have to do with both the insufficient historical coverage of such events as well as the distortion In India, Anarchism never took the form of formally named "anarchism" Irish Anarchism has little historical tradition before the 1970s and as a movement it only really developed from the late 1990s - although one organisation the Workers Anarchism has been an undercurrent in the politics of Palestine and Israel for over a century Italy, in particular at the turn of the 20th century had a strong Anarcho-syndicalist movement Anarchism was an influential movement in Japan in the 19th and 20th centuries Anarchism in Korea began in 1894 when Japan invaded Korea with the stated intention of protecting it from China. Pre-conquest some of the indigenous peoples of what is today Mexico had decisionmaking structures based on participation discussion and consensus hallmarks of modern anarchism The Anarchist movement in Poland developed at the end of the 19th century under the influence of anarchist ideas from Western Europe and Russia Russian anarchism is Anarchism in Russia or among Russians. Bakunin and the anarchists' exile See also Exile In 1848 Anarchism has historically gained more support and influence in Spain than anywhere else especially before Francisco Franco 's victory in the Spanish Civil War One of the first Swedish anarchists was the Swedish artist Ivan Aguéli who in 1884 was arrested and sentenced in the " Trial of the thirty " in Paris Anarchism came to the political scene in Turkey only after the publication of Kara, a monthly magazine Anarchism in Ukraine dates to the 20th century though it has roots in the peasant uprisings of Stenka Razin and Yemelyan Pugachev as well as the Zaporozhian Anarchism in the United States spans a wide range of Anarchist Philosophy, from Individualist anarchism to Anarchist communism and other less Anarchism as a Political movement in Vietnam started in the early twentieth century This is a list of Anarcho-punk bands The following is a list of notable or influential books on or relating to Anarchism, in alphabetical order by author This is a list of anarchist communities, past and present Throughout history anarchists have been involved in a wide variety of communities This is a list of Fictional anarchists; the source material in which they are found their creator(s the individual(s who interpreted them as anarchists during This is a list of Jewish Anarchists. A Yehuda Ashlag Paul Avrich B The following is a list of anarchist musicians, which details instruments such musicians utilize musical genres they perform and if applicable bands which they are members of This list uses the word Organization in its loosest sense Some of the following groups would be better categorized as networks. The following is a chronological list of noteworthy anarchist periodicals This is a list of anarchists poets, examples of their published work and the source material in which their poetry is found Anti-capitalism describes a wide variety of movements ideas and attitudes which oppose Capitalism. Anti-communism refers to opposition to Communism. Historically the word "communism" has been used to refer to several types of communal social organization and Anti-consumerism refers to the socio-political movement against Consumerism. Anti-corporate activists (see Activism) believe that the rise of large business Corporations is posing a threat to the legitimate authority of the public good " Anti-globalization " is a term that encompasses a number of related ideas Antimilitarism is a doctrine commonly found in the Anarchist and more globally in the Socialist movement which may be both characterized as Internationalist Anti- Statism refers to opposition to state intervention into personal social or economic affairs The term anti-war usually refers to the opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. Autarchism (from Greek, "belief in self rule" is a Political philosophy that upholds the principle of Individual liberty, rejects compulsory Autonomism refers to a set of Left-wing political and social movements and theories close to the socialist movement. The labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better Left communism is the range of communist viewpoints held by the Communist Left, which opposes the political ideas of the Bolsheviks Libertarianism is a term used by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which prioritize individual Liberty and seek to minimize or even abolish the Libertarian Marxism is a school of Marxism that describes itself as taking a less Authoritarian view of Marxist theory than conventional currents such as Stalinism Libertarian socialism is a group of political philosophies that aim to create a society without political economic or social hierarchies – a society in which all violent The Situationist International ( SI) was a small group of international political and artistic Agitators with roots in Marxism, Lettrism and the Morality (from the Latin la moralitas "manner character proper behavior" has three principal meanings Individualists promote the exercise of individual goals and desires. They oppose most external interference with an individual's choices - whether by society, the state, or any other group or institution. A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. Individualism is therefore opposed to views based on collectivism or statism, which stress that communal, community, group, societal, or national goals should take priority over individual goals. Collectivism is a term used to describe any moral political or social outlook that stresses human Interdependence and the importance of a Collective, rather than Statism (or Etatism) is a very loose and often Derogatory term that is used to describe Specific instances of state intervention in personal social Individualism is also opposed to tradition, religion, or any other form of external moral standard being used to limit an individual's choice of actions. The word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem acc of traditio which means "a giving up delivering up surrendering" and is used in a number of A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Morality (from the Latin la moralitas "manner character proper behavior" has three principal meanings
Individualism has a controversial relationship with egoism (selfishness). While some individualists are egoists, they usually do not argue that selfishness is inherently good. Rather, some argue that individuals are not duty-bound to any socially-imposed morality and that individuals should be free to choose to be selfish (or to choose any other lifestyle) if they so desire. Morality (from the Latin la moralitas "manner character proper behavior" has three principal meanings Others, such as Ayn Rand, argue against moral relativism and argue selfishness is a virtue. Ayn Rand (ˈaɪn ˈrænd &ndash March 6 1982 born Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum (Алиса Зиновьевна Розенбаум was a Russian born American This article attempts to confine itself to discussion of relativism in morals and ethics Others still argue against both moral relativism and egoism.
Contents |
Etymology
The concept of "individualism" was first used by the French Saint-Simonian socialists, to describe what they believed was the cause of the disintegration of French society after the 1789 Revolution. Saint-Simonianism was a French socialist movement of the first half of the Nineteenth century. Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Year 1789 ( MDCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an The term was however already used (pejoratively) by reactionary thinkers of the French Theocratic School, such as Joseph de Maistre, in their opposition to political liberalism. Reactionary (also reactionist) is a derogatory term usually used by the Left wing in regards to movements which oppose radical change in society and seeks a return Joseph-Marie Comte de Maistre (1 April 1753- 26 February 1821 was a French-speaking Savoyard lawyer diplomat writer and philosopher The Saint-Simonians did not see political liberalism as the problem though, but saw in "individualism" a form of "egoism" or "anarchy," the "ruthless exploitation of man by man in modern industry. " While the conservative anti-individualists attacked the political egalitarianism brought about by the Revolution, the Saint-Simonians criticized laissez-faire (economic liberalism), for its perceived failure to cope with the increasing inequality between rich and poor. Laissez-faire ( pronunciation: French,; English,) is a French phrase literally meaning Let do (“allow to do” Socialism, a word introduced by the Saint-Simonians, was to bring about "social harmony. Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution "[1][2][3]
In the English language, the word "individualism" was first introduced, as a pejorative, by the Owenites in the 1830s, although it is unclear if they were influenced by Saint-Simonianism or came up with it independently. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Owenism is a term used to represent the Utopian socialist Philosophy of Robert Owen, and derivations thereof [3] A more positive use of the term in Britain came to be used with the writings of James Elishama Smith, who was a millenarian and a Christian Israelite. James Elishama Smith, often called Shepherd Smith (1801 Glasgow – 1857 Glasgow) was a British Journalist and religious writer Millenarianism (sometimes spelled millenarism or millennarism) is the belief by a religious social or political group or movement in a coming major transformation The Christian Israelite Church was founded in 1822 by the prophet John Wroe in England. Although an early Owenite socialist, he eventually rejected its collective idea of property, and found in individualism a "universalism" that allowed for the development of the "original genius. " Without individualism, Smith argued, individuals cannot amass property to increase one's happiness. [3] William Maccall, another Unitarian preacher, and probably an acquaintance of Smith, came somewhat later, although influenced by John Stuart Mill, Thomas Carlyle, and German Romanticism, to the same positive conclusions, in his 1847 work "Elements of Individualism". John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 &ndash 8 May 1873 British Philosopher, political economist, civil servant and Member of Parliament, was an influential Thomas Carlyle (4 December 1795 – 5 February 1881 was a Scottish essayist satirist and historian whose work was highly influential during the Victorian era. Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the [1]
Political individualism
In political philosophy, the individualist theory of government holds that the state should take a merely defensive role by protecting the liberty of each individual to act as he or she wishes as long he or she does not infringe on the same liberty of another. For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. This contrasts with collectivist political theories, where, rather than leaving the individual to pursue his or her own ends, the state ensures that the individual serves the interests of society when taken as a whole. The term has also been used to describe "individual initiative" and "freedom of the individual" in general, perhaps best described by the French term "laissez faire," a verb meaning "to let [the people] do" [for themselves what they know how to do]. Laissez-faire ( pronunciation: French,; English,) is a French phrase literally meaning Let do (“allow to do”
In practice, individualists are chiefly concerned with protecting individual autonomy against obligations imposed by social institutions (such as the state). Many individualists pay particular attention to protecting the liberties of the minority against the wishes of the majority and see the individual as the smallest minority. For example, individualists oppose democratic systems unless constitutional protections exist that do not allow individual liberty to be diminished by the interests of the majority. Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system These concerns encompass both civil and economic liberties. One typical concern is opposition to any concentration of commercial and industrial enterprise in the hands of the state, and the municipality. The principles upon which this opposition is based are mainly two: that popularly-elected representatives are not likely to have the qualifications, or the sense of responsibility, required for dealing with the multitudinous enterprises, and the large sums of public money involved in civic administration; and that the "health of the state" depends upon the exertions of individuals for their personal benefit (who, "like cells", are the containers of the life of the body). Individualism may take a radicalist approach, as in individualist anarchism. Individualist anarchism refers to any of several traditions that hold that "individual conscience and the pursuit of self-interest should not be constrained by any collective
For some political individualists, who hold a view known as methodological individualism, the word "society" can never refer to anything more than a very large collection of individuals. Methodological individualism is a philosophical method aimed at explaining and understanding broad society-wide developments as the aggregation of decisions by individuals Society does not have an existence above or beyond these individuals, and thus cannot be properly said to carry out actions, since actions require intentionality, intentionality requires an agent, and society as a whole cannot be properly said to possess agency; only individuals can be agents. The same holds for the government. Under this view, a government is composed of individuals; despite that democratic governments are elected by popular vote, the fact remains that all of the activities of government are carried out by means of the intentions and actions of individuals. Strictly speaking, the government itself does not act. For example, the point is sometimes made that "we" have decided to enact a certain policy, and sometimes this usage is used to imply that the entity known as "society" supports the policy and thus it is justified. The methodological individualist points out that "we" in fact did not enact or carry out this policy; among those who voted, a certain group of people voted for the policy, individuals all, and another group voted against it. The decision that emerged was not made by the "people", or by the "government"; it was made by those on the winning side of the vote. This is significant because in any collective there exists individuals who oppose the policy whose wills are being overridden, and the use of "we" tends to obscure that fact. The individualist wishes to highlight the importance of the individual and prevent subsumption into a collective. For these reasons, methodological individualists tend to disagree with claims such as "we deserve the government we have, because we are doing it to ourselves," since perhaps that individual and very possibly many others disagree with the actions of the individuals who hold government power. That said, many individualists are willing to use "we" in reference to government or society as a convenient shorthand as long as the fact that these entities are composed of individuals is kept in mind.
Individualism and society
Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "social contract" maintains that each individual is under implicit contract to submit his own will to the "general will. The Social Contract Or Principles of Political Right (1762 by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, is the book in which Rousseau theorized about Social contracts " This advocacy of subordinating the individual will to a collective will is in fundamental opposition to the individualist philosophy. An individualist enters into society to further his own interests, or at least demands the right to serve his own interests, without taking the interests of society into consideration (an individualist need not be an egoist). The individualist does not lend credence to any philosophy that requires the sacrifice of the self-interest of the individual for any higher social causes. Rousseau would argue, however, that his concept of "general will" is not the simple collection of individual wills and precisely furthers the interests of the individual (the constraint of law itself would be beneficial for the individual, as the lack of respect for the law necessarily entails, in Rousseau's eyes, a form of ignorance and submission to one's passions instead of the preferred autonomy of reason). Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society Passions is an American television Soap opera created by Reason involves the ability to think understand and draw Conclusions in an Abstract way as in Human thinking
Societies and groups can differ, in the extent to which they are based upon predominantly "self-regarding" (individualistic, and arguably self-interested) rather than "other-regarding" (group-oriented, and group, or society-minded) behaviour. Ruth Benedict argued that there is also a distinction, relevant in this context, between "guilt" societies (e. Ruth Benedict (born Ruth Fulton, June 5, 1887 – September 17, 1948) was an American Anthropologist. ---- Guilt is the Fact, state or Verdict (by a Court or other Tribunal) of an Offence, Crime, Violation g. medieval Europe) with an "internal reference standard", and "shame" societies (e. Shame is variously an affect emotion cognition state or condition g. Japan, "bringing shame upon one's ancestors") with an "external reference standard", where people look to their peers for feedback on whether an action is "acceptable" or not (also known as "group-think"). For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics.
The extent to which society, or groups are "individualistic" can vary from time to time, and from country to country. For example, Japanese society is more group-oriented (e. g. decisions tend to be taken by consensus among groups, rather than by individuals), and it has been argued that "personalities are less developed" (than is usual in the West). The USA is usually thought of as being at the individualistic (its detractors would say "atomistic") end of the spectrum (the term "Rugged Individualism" is a cultural imprint of being the essence of Americanism), whereas European societies are more inclined to believe in "public-spiritedness", state "socialistic" spending, and in "public" initiatives. In Natural philosophy, atomism is the theory that all the objects in the universe are composed of very small indestructible building blocks - Atoms Or stated in
John Kenneth Galbraith made a classic distinction between "private affluence and public squalor" in the USA, and private squalor and public affluence in, for example, Europe, and there is a correlation between individualism and degrees of public sector intervention and taxation.
Individualism is often contrasted with either totalitarianism or collectivism, but in fact there is a spectrum of behaviors ranging at the societal level from highly individualistic societies (e. Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe Political systems where a State regulates nearly every aspect of public and private Collectivism is a term used to describe any moral political or social outlook that stresses human Interdependence and the importance of a Collective, rather than g. the USA) through mixed societies (a term the UK has used in the post-World War II period) to collectivist. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Also, many collectivists (particularly supporters of collectivist anarchism or libertarian socialism) point to the enormous differences between liberty-minded collectivism and totalitarian practices. Collectivist anarchism (also known as anarcho-collectivism) is an umbrella term embracing two Anarchist schools of thought the first school is Socialist Libertarian socialism is a group of political philosophies that aim to create a society without political economic or social hierarchies – a society in which all violent
Individualism, sometimes closely associated with certain variants of individualist anarchism, libertarianism or classical liberalism, typically takes it for granted that individuals know best and that public authority or society has the right to interfere in the person's decision-making process only when a very compelling need to do so arises (and maybe not even in those circumstances). Individualist anarchism refers to any of several traditions that hold that "individual conscience and the pursuit of self-interest should not be constrained by any collective Libertarianism is a term used by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which prioritize individual Liberty and seek to minimize or even abolish the Classical liberalism (also known as traditional liberalism, Laissez-faire liberalism, Market liberalism or in much of the world A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions This type of argument is often observed in relation to policy debates regarding regulation of industries, as well as in relation to personal choice of lifestyle.
Economic individualism
The doctrine of economic individualism holds that each individual should be allowed autonomy in making his own economic decisions as opposed to those decisions being made by the state, or the community, for him. Doctrine (Latin doctrina) is a codification of beliefs or "a body of teachings quot or "instructions" taught principles or positions as the Autonomy ( Greek: Auto- Nomos - nomos meaning "law" one who gives oneself his/her own Law) is the right to Self-government A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. In biological terms a community is a group of interacting Organisms sharing an environment. Moreover, it advocates the private ownership of property as opposed to state or collective arrangements. Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual A collective is a group of people who share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest or work together on a specific project(s to achieve a common objective Advocates of capitalism often claim that capitalism is the economic system most closely based on these views, while individualist anarchists and mutualists such as Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and Benjamin Tucker contend that capitalism crushes individuality. Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where Individualist anarchism refers to any of several traditions that hold that "individual conscience and the pursuit of self-interest should not be constrained by any collective Mutualism, is an Anarchist school of thought, can be traced to the writings of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon that envisioned a society where each person might possess a Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (ˈpruːd ɒn in British English, dɔ̃ in French) ( 15 January 1809 – 19 January 1865) was Benjamin Ricketson Tucker ( April 17, 1854 &ndash June 22, 1939) was a leading proponent of American Individualist anarchism In some countries, corporations have gained for themselves the legal status of individual persons. A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business
Individualism and US history
At the time of the formation of the United States, many of its citizens had fled from state or religious oppression in Europe and were influenced by the egalitarian and fraternal ideals that later found expression in the French revolution. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an Such ideas influenced the framers of the U.S. Constitution (the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans) who believed that the government should seek to protect individual rights in the constitution itself; this idea later led to the Bill of Rights. The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme Law of the United States. In the United States the Bill of Rights is the name by which the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution are known According to Ronald Scollon, the "fundamental American ideology of individualism" can be summarized by the following two statements: 1. The individual is the basis of all reality and all society. 2. The individual is defined by what he or she is not. " Explaining the latter statement, he says that American individualism emphasizes that the individual is not subject to arbitrary laws, and not subject to domination by historical precedent and preference. [4]
The Essence of Individualism
At its core, individualism is nothing more than a dedication to careful thought. Individualist principles cannot be found in moral, political or economic “action” because action can only be valued with respect to the reasons that guide it. For instance, imagine that hard work is objectively valuable; you may feel inclined to judge a hard-worker favorably. But then imagine that her sole reason for working hard is that you will judge her favorably for it; imagine that she will stop when no longer observed. If you know this, you may judge her quite differently. Similarly, after brief observation, you may incorrectly label idle workers as lazy. The point is that snippets of action tell us nothing about the principles that guide action, and in this respect, individualism cannot be ascribed to individuals who have not testified about their thought processes.
But it is natural to infer others’ reasons in order to judge actions immediately. Should you rescue a child from a burning building, others will be quick to praise you under the assumption that you were guided by selfless care for another’s safety. They will not only ignore the proposition that your bravado was feigned for the sole purpose of receiving accolades, but they will also refuse to question whether the motives they’ve inferred are even objectively valuable. This strikes at the essence of individualism; a true individualist reevaluates core assumptions and inferences because, with a firm grasp of logical principles, the individualist knows that all ideas that are not logically provable are subject to change upon the existence of new compelling evidence. The individualist recognizes that another person should not be able to recognize an individualist on the basis of his observable actions. If one chooses to reject prevailing authority, she may be a thoughtless rebel or a thoughtful individualist; the action alone gives no indication as to which.
The essence of individualism is to choose the standards one aspires to. One may choose majority standards, minority standards, original standards, or no standards at all. Again, the actual choice does not prove individualist reasoning – one must look to the reasoning itself. Thus the only defining quality of an individualist is that she uses a personal command of logical principles to give all options a fair and equal evaluation before making a decision or conclusion. This process should certainly include evaluation of existing standards widely held. The individualist relies on her own judgment only to the extent that, after much evaluation, she finds it objectively superior to that of another.
Without delving deep into linguistics and the effects of connotation, it’s fair to point out that the immediate conditioned judgments humans make are mostly rational and mostly beneficial and are not necessarily anti-individualist. Linguistics is the scientific study of Language, encompassing a number of sub-fields Also, they’re easily adjustable upon acquisition of new information. They can be thought of as “pre-reasoned” responses based on our vocabularies and our experiences and observations. Mostly, they serve us well, especially at times when judgments are irrelevant or when it is terribly inefficient to ask and answer questions endlessly. Evolutionary scientists see conditioned judgments as survival tools derivative of the fundamental dilemma: fight or flight. Our conditioned responses make economical use of our minds, so that we may devote our time to other thoughts and concerns. There is but one caveat: conditioned responses are shortcuts; they cannot provide answers to complex questions, and if their owners do not maintain them with frequent adjustment, they may serve to propagate logically misguided information even with respect to simple concepts. [5]
"Thinking Without Thinking"
In his book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking[6], journalist Malcolm Gladwell posits that conditioned responses are extremely beneficial to the expert mind. Malcolm Gladwell (born September 3, 1963) is a United Kingdom -born Canadian -raised Journalist and author now based in New York City He gives an example of a therapist who can predict that a relationship is doomed after hearing mere snippets of a couple’s conversations. What Gladwell interprets as miraculous judgment is as easily interpreted as exceptional internal command of the rules of logic. Concocting meanings and patterns in random abstract data is relatively easy, but it is not easy to prove truth from random data with consistency and accuracy. Imagine every possible observation that one could make with respect to a patient: think of a patient’s seated posture, speech patterns, clothing, habits, interests. Numerous correlations will appear obvious, but many will be coincidental, many will be too ambiguous, and many will be imagined. To prove truth with accuracy is to subject data to such rigorous scrutiny that a conviction as to its meaning can be held beyond reasonable doubt. The words of rigorous logical scrutiny are rightfully the same words of criminal justice. The therapist’s accuracy stems not from magical ability to find telling patterns in data but from her constant testing of all perceived patterns against logic, after which she discards the irrelevant and improvident, retains and organizes a working mental catalogue of the valid and provable, and quickly applies the same to new factual contexts by analogy. To do this instantly may require a remarkable intellect, but any average mind, given enough time, is certainly capable of such a process. Criminal verdicts are not the product of experts; they’re the product of randomly selected humans forced to apply rigorous logical rules as instructed in order to reach a thoroughly justifiable judgment. This begs the question of why average humans do not attend other important judgments with such rigor. Brilliant minds may conceive of logic inherently and use it swiftly, but given time and effort, logic can be learned and applied by all. Use of logic helps illustrate this very point: genius is sufficient to grasp it but not necessary. The essence of individualism is partly found in the determination to observe the world through a lens of logical scrutiny. The implication is that conditioned judgments that are the product of such a process may be extremely beneficial. However, sound judgments and unsound judgments cannot be distinguished facially. The individualist understands this, and thus, she remains skeptical of all judgments until she conducts independent analysis using the tools of logic. [7]
Individualism & "Common Sense"
At odds with logic is the principle of “common sense. Common sense (or when used attributively as an Adjective, commonsense, common-sense, or commonsensical) based on a strict construction ” The two are sometimes used interchangeably, but they most definitely describe adverse methods of reasoning. The term “common sense” refers, quite naturally, to sense that is common. That is, it assumes there is a correlation between the popularity of a proposition and its truthfulness. For example, “common sense” originally suggested to humans that the planet was flat. Modernly, "common sense" is used to describe propositions that are “facially intuitive” per, allegedly, any reasonable individual’s independent judgment. While this idea disowns the groupthink fallacy, it’s still not an improvement because it remains subject to the flat-earth problem and asks the independent mind to accept a judgment on the basis of facial appearance. This causes the propagation of popular albeit erroneous judgments when facial appearance is deceptive as to objective reality. For example, consider the once facially intuitive proposition that, “Man cannot fly,” and then consider the individualist mentality with which the Wright brothers approached it.
Common sense – one of the most popular sources of conditioned automatic judgments – is by its very nature a logical fallacy. Common sense suggests: “This seems like it’s probably true. ” Logic asks: “Is it at all possible that this is not true?” If one values truth, one should ask logic’s question instead of repeating common sense’s statement. Observing and experiencing the world through the lens of logic may lead one to develop conditioned automatic judgments that are virtually unassailable. And, conversely, to refuse this lens is an implicit admission that one’s conditioned judgments and conceptions may have no actual basis in functional truth. This creates some interesting questions. For instance, would human interaction be more efficient if all rules of logic were widely appreciated? Beyond geometry, American public schools do not teach logic; if they did, would conditioned judgments improve or cease to exist? Would marketing and media industries lose power and influence in a nation where citizens are better equipped to interpret and scrutinize data and claims of truth? Or do conditioned judgments make interaction more efficient even when untrue or misguided? These concerns precede the quest to define individualism, yet they’re wholly central to it because individualism consistently invokes implicit rejection of collective thought and “conformity. Geometry ( Greek γεωμετρία; geo = earth metria = measure is a part of Mathematics concerned with questions of size shape and relative position ”[8]
Individualism vs. Conformity
When “individualism” is alleged to be adverse to “conformity,” the proposition renders both words functionally meaningless. Conformity, at base level and regarding human relations, describes action for which the intended outcome is some form of increased homogeneity. The word alone should carry no connotation; it’s merely an objective description and can apply to anything from standardized meal consumption times to hygiene expectations. It is impossible to imagine how an ideology, person or group could oppose such a general and naturally occurring concept; to do so would be to spew fanciful sanctimonious delusions.
Any comparison between conformity and individualism mistakenly elevates form over substance. Since human behavior is choreographed by the mind, actions become a proxy for criticism of a thought process, or lack thereof. Thus, the relevant criticisms miss the point and render themselves an embarrassment to the principles they purport to advocate.
Decisions to conform can be made in three ways: intentionally, after conscious thought (i. e. a desire to imitate); unintentionally, after conscious thought (i. e. a desire to act in a certain way that coincidentally imitates an existing way); or indifferently, after conscious thought (i. e. no desire to act, but inaction still amounts to conformity).
Criticism is most likely to be levied at intentional imitation, but this still amounts to hypocrisy as almost all human behavior is a form of imitation. To be valuable, criticism of “conformity” must delve significantly deeper; the only valid target of criticism is one’s reasoning process (not her actions), and the only acceptable argument is against one whose actions are detrimentally unreasoned despite choice and ability to reason. Observable action labeled as “conformity” tells us nothing about individualism in the same way that correlation tells us nothing about causation. The question should not be: “Are one's actions a conformist imitation?” The question should be: “Who or what is she imitating and why?” That question elicits true reflection on independent reasoning; it asks one to independently justify the standards she chooses to aspire to. Again, while one's observable choice may invite inference or assumption, the choice alone does not prove its reasons. [9]
Choice & Free Will
The essence of individualism is to choose one’s own standards, or ignore standards entirely, so long as that decision is well-reasoned. The alternative would be to place action before independent thought – to allow the standards of others to supply the reasons for one’s actions. This may suffice for anyone some of the time, but it should be fundamentally obvious that, for it to be a uniformly sound practice, one must be either inherently indifferent to the outcome of her actions or wholly dependent on another’s interpretation and value-judgment of the outcome. In this respect, one lives by the will and whim of another or by no will at all and is thus dangerously subject to persuasion given at least the minimum level of credible impetus that caused her to act in the first place.
One’s independent judgment reflects her will, her desires and her own reasoned valuations. Thus, only one’s independent judgment can or should command one’s actions if she seeks to be an individual rather than an employee of another’s desires. [10]
References
- ^ a b Swart, Koenraad W. (1962). ""Individualism" in the Mid-Nineteenth Century (1826-1860)". Journal of the History of Ideas 23 (1): 77-90. doi:. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.
- ^ Lukes, Steven (1971). Professor Steven Michael Lukes, DPhil (born 1941 is the author of numerous books and articles about political and social theory "The Meanings of "Individualism"". Journal of the History of Ideas 32 (1): 45-66.
- ^ a b c Claeys, Gregory (1986). ""Individualism," "Socialism," and "Social Science": Further Notes on a Process of Conceptual Formation, 1800-1850". Journal of the History of Ideas 47 (1): 81-93. doi:. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.
- ^ Scollon, Ronald. Intercultural Communication. Blackwell Publishing. 2001. p. 221
- ^ Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, Oxford University Press, 1976, ISBN 0-19-286092-5
- ^ Gladwell, Malcolm (2005). Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Boston: Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-17232-4.
- ^ Bertrand Russel, Logic and Knowledge: Essays 1901–1950 (edited by Robert C. Marsh), London: George Allen & Unwin.
- ^ Bertrand Russel, Logic and Knowledge: Essays 1901–1950 (edited by Robert C. Marsh), London: George Allen & Unwin.
- ^ Bertrand Russel, Our Knowledge of the External World as a Field for Scientific Method in Philosophy, 1914, Chicago and London: Open Court Publishing.
- ^ Bertrand Russel, Authority and the Individual, 1949, London: George Allen & Unwin.
Further reading
- Emerson, Ralph Waldo (1847). Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25 1803 &ndash April 27 1882 was an American essayist philosopher poet and leader of the Transcendentalist movement in the early 19th century Self-Reliance. London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. . ISBN.
- Dumont, Louis (1986). Louis Dumont may refer to Pierre Étienne Louis Dumont (1759-1829 French political writer Louis Dumont (anthropologist (1911-1998 French Essays on Individualism: Modern Ideology in Anthropological Perspective. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press. The University of Chicago Press is the largest University press in the United States ISBN 0-226-16958-8.
- Lukes, Steven (1973). Professor Steven Michael Lukes, DPhil (born 1941 is the author of numerous books and articles about political and social theory Individualism. New York: Harper & Row. HarperCollins is a Publishing company owned by News Corporation. ISBN 0-631-14750-0.
- Renaut, Alain (1999). The Era of the Individual. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. The Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. ISBN 0-691-02938-5.
- Rand, Ayn (1964). Ayn Rand (ˈaɪn ˈrænd &ndash March 6 1982 born Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum (Алиса Зиновьевна Розенбаум was a Russian born American The Virtue of Selfishness. The Virtue of Selfishness A New Concept of Egoism is a 1964 collection of Essays and papers by Ayn Rand and Nathaniel Branden. Signet Book. ISBN 0-451-16393-1.
- Shanahan, Daniel. (1991) Toward a Genealogy of Individualism. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 0-870-23811-6.
- Watt, Ian. (1996) Myths of Modern Individualism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-48011-6.
See also
- Anarchism
- Collectivism (antonym)
- Anarcho-capitalism
- Contrarian
- Independent
- Individualist anarchism
- Libertarianism
- Objectivism (Ayn Rand)
- Existentialism
- Self-ownership
- Tragedy of the commons
- Tragedy of the anticommons
- Communitarianism
- Individuation
External links
- The New Individualist magazine
- Individual-I
- the i campaign
- Individualistic sensitivity by Georges Palente roughly translated into English
- The Individual as God essay
- Where the Individual Counts
- The Ayn Rand Institute
Dictionary
individualism
-noun
- The tendency for a person to act without reference to others, particularly in matters of style, fashion or mode of thought.
- The moral stance, political philosophy, or social outlook that promotes independence and self-reliance of individual people, while opposing the interference with each person's choices by society, the state, or any other group or institution.
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic