There seems to be a growing acceptance of the notion that we
each are free independent individuals and as a consequence we not only can, but
also should, order life in society accordingly.
Being free independent individuals necessarily means people can
freely do as they please or more specifically that they should do as they wish for
their own pleasure--(my) life is all about me getting what's mine without
interference. Apart from being
unencumbered in seeking what we want, this belief also implies there is no
obligation that an individual has to other individuals, because such obligation
would be tantamount to an imposition (by another) upon one's freedom to act as
he/she desires.
Being independent also means I depend on no one else and no
one else depends on me--everyone is on his/her own. This implies that we each are separate with
different intentions, hence the importance of being free to enact these intentions. I think and do for me and only me.
With collective action requiring individuals to follow an
idea that is likely not one's own, it leads to everyone's action being constrained
or circumscribed by this idea. Thus acting
as or in a collective is something that must be rejected by free independent
individuals--there can only be free independent individual action if there is no
constraint or obligations. That is, free
independent individual concept as the overarching theory to guide
order-creating policy necessarily means collective concerns are denied out of existence. Thus, action upon each other (in pursuit of
self-interest) is far more likely than acting with each other (in support of
collective interests).
[Note following this
idea might not even be possible because it equates to restricting one's action by
the imposed idea of another--specifically that you ought to act as if you are a
free independent individual. Hence this
essentially means that another's idea for how to order life is imposed upon
your life and in conforming to the idea of someone else you would no longer be
acting from your own idea as a free and independent individual!]
A Thought Experiment
Let's conduct a thought experiment where we take the notion
of free independent individuals to its logical conclusion. In this experiment
we make the assumption that free independent individuals is the foundational
principle upon which life is structured.
So we have a number of free independent individuals--a crowd
of people--inhabiting Earth. In this
created world of free independent individuals each roams about following
his/her own plans in pursuit of his/her own ideas unfettered by the ideas,
needs or wishes of another. Everyone is
on his/her own doing his/her own thing! Now
let's fast forward to the future to see what has come of this world of free
independent individuals doing his/her own thing.
Absent of collective shared values, laws and ideas of what
is right and good there is no rationale for or vision of a "we' and hence no government. After all a system of governance is
antithetical to the notion of free independent individuals who believe that
their freedom rests upon them not being encumbered and having no inherent or
institutionalized obligations to others that would impinge upon them acting in
accordance with their own plan for pursuing their own interests. So for example, in place of government, we see
each individual ensuring his/her own safety and security through his/her
individual idea that each believes affords him/her safety and security. Likely fearful of each other they each equip
themselves with weapons of their choice for protection.
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