by
Gary D. Barnett

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Collectivism
holds that, in human affairs, the collective – society, the community,
the nation, the proletariat, the race, etc. – is the unit of reality
and the standard of value. On this view, the individual has reality
only as a part of the group, and value only insofar as he serves
it.

~ Leonard
Peikoff

The mind of
the collectivist is empty and pitiful, and has not the ability to
think on its own. It has no uniqueness; it has no individual personality.
It does not create, nor does it possess any sense of self. The collectivist
mind can’t possess these virtues because it is only a very small
cog in a wheel of the group. It is but a speck in the midst of a
mob. This is the story of America today, as collectivism runs rampant
and individualism is shunned.

This is a rather
harsh truth about the dramatic decline of individualism, of individual
thought, critical thinking, and self-responsibility. It is an admission
that once sane minds have all but disappeared from view, and philosophical
degradation has been the result. Because of this mass escape from
personal responsibility, moral, physical, political, and economic
corruption has become the norm, and now this corruption is all encompassing.

When collectivism
takes hold, individual rights naturally disappear, and mob rule
policies take root. This policy transformation of course, is affected
by the state. The progression from a system that is based on individual
self rule and individual sovereignty to one of community or nation
is not in the interest of freedom and liberty. When any political
system is in place, this negative progression is easily achieved
nonetheless. Only peaceful anarchy allows for the individual to
be truly sovereign. Only when the state is absent can freedom flourish.

Ruling “elites”
crave this merging of individuals into a societal tumor, because
this cancer destroys the power of individual thought. The result
of this diseased system can lead only to consensus and compromise.
It can lead only to corruption. Consensus leads to no real decision
at all, and the following compromise is nothing more than a mass
combining of ignorance. When political policy is decided in this
manner, it serves only to limit the individual’s ability to achieve.

While freedom
is a natural right of man, it is difficult to obtain, and even more
difficult to keep. It requires that the individual be self-responsible.
Apparently, many if not most in this country today, have chosen
to follow along with the crowd instead of listening to the beat
of a different drummer. They have chosen to be dependent sheep in
the collective flock. This is unfortunate, and in my opinion, it
has destroyed any idea of real liberty in this country.

Why do people
choose to run with the mob, to exist in a mass? They do so because
it is the easiest path with the least amount of resistance. They
do so thinking they are bettering their lot in life. They do so
because they are afraid, and seek to gain a false safety. They do
so to shirk personal responsibility. They do so to hide from the
truth. They do so to hide from themselves.

In the United
States today, virtually everything is decided by the few, but with
the implied consent of the mob. The U.S. political system has major
aspects of socialism and fascism, and is certainly an oligarchy,
but most have the misguided notion that the mob is in charge. This
is due to a belief by the masses in the farce of voting. Voting
gives the false impression that the voters themselves are in control,
but nothing could be further from the truth. In essence, those voted
into office as “representatives” of the people, are fully
controlled by very powerful interest groups, and these groups are
the real rulers. This is a very flawed system, but it is one that
gives the false impression that the majority rules. That is simply
not the case, and even if it were, it would still be immoral! This
system is accepted and embraced by the crowd, but in reality, why
should anyone rule over anyone else, majority or not? How can freedom
survive in a place where one has the power to rule over another?
I can tell you, it can’t!

As Butler
Shaffer pointed out in the past in his great article titled
Collectivist
Utopias:

“All
political systems are socialistic, in that they are premised
upon the subservience of individual interests to collective authority.”

This truth
goes unnoticed by the masses, mainly because they have been fooled
into thinking that they are free, when in fact their lives are virtually
void of any individual thought or authority. This is a sad state
of affairs, but it is the reality in America today. Without the
individual, real freedom cannot exist, so collectivist societies
based upon the common or greater good of all, are destined only
to end in slavery to the state. This has proven to be true throughout
history.

The collective
“we” has been brainwashed into believing that self-interest,
self-responsibility, and self-sufficiency are not in the best interest
of the group, but just the opposite of course is the case. This
brainwashing has been accomplished through a long indoctrination
process that is still firmly in place.

Consider the
government’s “public” school system, where most every
child in the country is taught the same nonsense for most of his
learning years, and is indoctrinated throughout childhood to love
first his community, state, and nation.

Consider the
worship for a constitution that gave massive and in some cases,
unlimited (not limited) power to a federal government, and lessened
greatly the importance of the individual in favor of the “general
welfare.”

Consider the
reliance on government welfare by the people via the multitude of
social programs that are meant to make dependency on government
almost mandatory.

Consider the
mindset of the “99 per centers” that aim to force the
so-called 1 per cent to be more inclusive, fair, and responsive
to the group.

Consider the
mob’s acceptance of a heavy and progressive income taxation used
as a way to equalize outcomes by redistributing private property
for the so-called benefit of all.

Consider “public”
lands or “public” anything.

Consider the
idiotic term, “giving back.”

Consider today’s
strict concentration on race, class, society as a whole, community,
state, and nation, all more important than the individual.

Consider the
mass acceptance of the National Anthem and the communistic Pledge
of Allegiance.

Consider the
constant call “for the greater good of society!”

Collectivism,
as a political ideology, thrives on the idea that force by the state
should determine how those in the mob can benefit at the expense
of others. It allows for the collective to force policy decisions
that serve to dictate how each individual must live his life. It
has no respect for private property. It attempts to destroy self-responsibility,
self-reliance, and self-interest. It puts the mob, whether that
is the community, the state, or the nation, above all else. It relies
on the elimination of individualism, all for the so-called benefit
of society as a whole. Collectivism is then, the epitome of immorality,
of dishonesty, and of exploitation.

Unless a
man has talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome
burden. Of what avail is freedom to choose if the self be ineffectual?
We join a mass movement to escape individual responsibility, or,
in the words of the ardent young Nazi, “to be free from freedom.”

~ Eric Hoffer

April
30, 2012

Gary
D. Barnett [send him mail]
is president of Barnett Financial Services, Inc., in Lewistown,
Montana. Visit his website.

Copyright
© 2012 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in
part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

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