Quick mini-thread on contemporary notions of individualism and how I think it's gone completely off the reservation.
Many seem to see individualism primarily as creating the space for an individual of certain talent and ambition to become as wealthy and powerful as possible, as opposed to focusing on a framework or structure that empowers as many individuals as possible (my view).
This is a huge error in judgement and perspective in my opinion. If your focus is the former you end up with what we have today, an unaccountable oligarchy. If you focus on the latter, you can have a society of relatively empowered, free and content people.
It relates to @EpsilonTheory's view that 1,000 millionaires > one billionaire. Absolutely agree.
A handful of completely dominant oligarchs is far worse for society as a whole than tens of thousands of relatively free and empowered people.
A handful of completely dominant oligarchs is far worse for society as a whole than tens of thousands of relatively free and empowered people.
@EpsilonTheory A philosophy that truly aims to elevate the individual should aim to elevate and empower in practice as many people as possible. Oligarchy is the exact opposite. It's a few dominant players controlling virtually everything co-existing with a mass of indebted wage slaves.
@EpsilonTheory The actual focus should be on what sort of incentives do we need to create to empower as many individual people as possible across the entire country.
Instead we incentivize oligarchy and power concentration, and that's exactly what we have now.
Instead we incentivize oligarchy and power concentration, and that's exactly what we have now.
@EpsilonTheory To summarize, individualism shouldn't be the completely self-centered ideal it's become. It shouldn't revolve around how much you can get and grab, it should be an idea centered around empowering individuals in general.
As many as possible, not just yourself.
As many as possible, not just yourself.
