Interdependent Not
Independent
Acting as if we are free independent individuals is
antithetical to our very nature. It is
counter to developing humanly productive relationships for the satisfaction of
our inter-subjectness--we are social beings not merely separate independent
beings. Consequently by structuring our life following the idea that we are
free independent individuals--that we have no connection and obligation to each
other--we necessarily lose our sense of humanness. We become less than human, with an increased
likelihood of committing inhumane acts--all in the name of independent individual
freedom.
So people are not simply independent beings but rather social
beings who must communicate and commune with other individuals in a social
system for mutual development, for both individual and collective
development. Consequently, each
individual requires being in helping relationships with others for the
development of each other's potential. Individuals
need to harmonize with other individuals, as there is an inter-subject aspect to
being human as much as there is an individual intra-subject characteristic. Human beings are social beings as much as
they are individual biological beings--people exist collectively not strictly
individually.
Collectivism is no more a dirty word than is
individualism. To deny or renounce the
need for collectivism is to refuse one's own humanity. The individual and the collective are part
and parcel to our humanness, thus being human means we have a responsibility to
both.
Of course as individuals we have the right to pursue our
interests but we also have the responsibility to do so without impinging upon
the right of others to do the same, now and in the future! Moreover while we
have the responsibility to develop our humanness we also have the
responsibility to facilitate its development in others. Accordingly, we must act as individual agents
as well as collaborative parts of a community. This is
not an either/or choice. It is important
that we each understand our (shared) nature and the fact that we each impact
the environment within which we all live.
If we only could see that we are deeply interconnected and
that we truly need each other--if we can transcend self-interest--then
we'd have little difficulty embracing our responsibilities to each other and
accordingly making our society a more human society. The solution to our difficulties will not
emerge by attaching to one end of the individual to collective spectrum. Doing
so would lead to self-destruction. Responsible people will not be selfish and
short sighted and thus not act in a way that would diminish the prospects for
the continued quality of life of all individuals. By transcending self-interest
and embracing our I-We nature
we can each lead the evolvement of our society to a higher level of human
existence ensuring a brighter future for generations to come.
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