Saturday, February 14, 2009

Sobre el individualismo

El individualismo frecuentemente es confundido con egoísmo o con vivir de forma asocial o incluso anti-social.

No es el caso. Individualismo simplemente implica respecto por la dignidad del individuo, por sus derechos.

En realidad es el colectivismo el que es anti-social. Como lo explica Charles Johnson:

"Individualism is not a philosophical rationale for antisocial attitudes or for indifference or hostility toward your fellow creatures. It is the collectivist, not the individualist, who sees human beings as naturally truculent creatures who don’t care enough about each other to get along peacefully and who need to have plans for collaboration forced on them from the top. Promising social harmony and security, collectivism delivers dissonance and violence.

Individualists believe in individualism precisely because we believe that human beings can and should be both social and civilized to each other at the same time—that community and social life don’t require shoving people around or bullying them into following one big plan. What Brooks fails to see is how—individually—we can peacefully, freely, and naturally form communities, institutions, and invisible social bonds as we make our way through the world."