Discussion about this post

User's avatar
The Radical Individualist's avatar

This post has coalesced millennia of thoughts and writings into one elegant essay. Perhaps the oldest, most controversial, issue of concern to man is the individual. To what extent must we, should we, participate and to what extent must our culture recognize our individuality. There is no 'one size fits all'.

But we are seeing a repeat of what has gone before, many times. Authoritarian powers are working to erase any sense of individuality. All must serve the state. Individuals see this with alarm. Conformists relish it and say, 'It's about time!'

As I was reading this, for some reason Kafka's 'Metamorphosis' came to mind...

Expand full comment
John Rowe's avatar

Thank you for getting my brain started this morning!

I strongly believe that money is the key to controlling the individual. Those of us who aren’t lucky enough to be independently wealthy must make money. This generally requires us to give up our individuality to some extent that varies depending on the job.

By controlling the value of the money we earn, even a government in a “democratic” and “free” country has almost as much power over the individual as Stalin did.

Expand full comment
23 more comments...

No posts