individual / community
“It is no exaggeration to say that the value of individual autonomy, which we have over centuries carved out of the hierarchies and tyrannies of earlier ages, is on the verge of self-defeat as we enter this new century. Without a background of commonality, without some form of civic responsability, autonomy degenerates into mere special pleading. Without a strong notion of commitment to other people and our shared undertakings, without a sense that we are together creating a just world, a world not ruled by cheap acceptance of inevitability or the easy superiority of wealth, our hard-won individualism loses its deeper significance. It becomes a victory without genuine spoils, personal comfort not only restricted in number to the very luckiest few but also cramped in scope, bereft of meaning. This is luxury with no objective beyond itself, freedom minues any sense of direction.”
p15 - The World We Want - Mark Kingwell
March 21st, 2005 at 2:27 pm
Unfortunately, much of our society is based on the individual, rather than the collective good. Of course, this varies, but the North American ideal is the individual — full of the capability to better “him”self and achieve the capitalist dream. Interestingly, this is less of a dream in Canada, and communication policy (what I’m working on now) has traditionally been less individualistic here. hurray for thinking about others!
March 21st, 2005 at 10:21 pm
Yeah - it’s not that individual rights hasn’t been an amazing historical change - but I wonder if it is in danger of being a Pyrrhic victory
wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhic_victory