The
foundation of conservative political philosophy is the idea of
individualism. Simply put, individualism favors the freedom
individuals over collective or state control. Individualism says that
the rights and freedoms of the individual are more important than the
goals of the collective. The rights of the individual cannot be
sacrificed for the sake of the collective.
When I
hear others talk about individualism, I often feel that the
philosophy is misunderstood. In fact, I myself used to be confused
about this core conservative idea. Many seem to confuse individualism
with isolationism. They believe that individualists are sad and
lonely people, who are anti-community. However, individualists are
not anti-community. A community is of great benefit to all the
individuals involved. Individualism only means that your rights are
not to be violated by the community or by another individual.
All
Equal
The
greatest summation of the concept of individualism can be found in
the Declaration of Independence. “We hold these Truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal...”. Before you point
out that this excludes women, I will point out that in this case
“men” is supposed to be gender-neutral here. All humans are
equal. Every gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion;
criminals and upstanding citizens; every age, including the unborn.
We are
equal in many ways. First off, we are all equal in essence.
Philosophers debate the essential nature of humanity, but we all
intuitively know what makes a human. Second, we are equal in rights.
The aforementioned statement of the Declaration goes on to list just
a few of our basic rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness”. I will describe more about what rights are in the next
post.
We all
have equal rights, and my rights do not take precedence over your
rights. If you violate my rights, you have opened yourself up for
reciprocation. Finally, because we all have equal rights, we are all
equal before the law. That means, in court, I should have the same
shot at justice as a rich person or a person of a different
ethnicity.
Collectivism
Individualism
stands opposed to the philosophy of collectivism. Collectivism says
that the goals of the collective are more important that the rights
of the individual. Collectivism has led to many atrocities throughout
human history. Consider slavery, and how the slaves right to liberty
was violated by the collective of slavery supporters, who felt the
institution was necessary for their economy.
The Nazis
also declared that whole groups of people didn't possess the right to
life. Racism is always a form of collectivism, because it sees people
in terms of groups (“races”), instead of as individuals. Finally,
communism denies citizens the right to private property, in the name
of benefiting the collective.
Illustration:
Civil War
One of
the greatest illustrations of individualism versus collectivism can
be found in Captain America: Civil War. The story is written
to highlight the differences between the two philosophies. Captain
America beautifully embodies individualism. He believes signing the
Sokovia Accords is a violation of his right to follow his conscience.
He is not a lone-wolf isolationist, but instead teams up with other
heroes (Team Cap) who believe as he does.
Team
Iron-Man is very much on-the-nose with spelling out how evil
collectivism is. Even Black Widow says at one point [paraphrased]
“How we stay together is not as important as the fact that we stay
together.” Think about the implications of that statement. Team
Iron-Man must bully others into getting their way, all in the name of
“safety”. In the end, Cap says that the core of what he believes
in is individuals... which is the essence of individualism,
conservatism, and America.
