COLLECTIVISM vs. INDIVIDUALISM

COLLECTIVISM vs. INDIVIDUALISM




The COLLECTIVISM definition partially derived from G. Edward Griffin’s exhaustive essay at: http://www.freedom-force.org/pdf/futurecalling1.pdf

1. THE ORIGIN AND NATURE OF HUMAN RIGHTS:
• The Collectivist says that human rights come from the state. This is consistent with THE UNITED NATION’s Article Four of the UN Covenant.
• Individualists agree with our Declaration of Independence; our Rights come from our creator. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

2. THE ORIGIN OF STATE POWER
• Collectivists believe that governments have powers that are greater than those of their citizens, and the source of those powers, they say, is, not the individuals within society, but society itself, the group to which individuals belong.
• Individualists believe that a just government derives its power from the people. That means the state cannot have any legitimate powers unless they are given to it by its citizens. Another way of putting it is that governments may do only those things that their citizens also have a right to do. If individuals don’t have the right to perform a certain act, then they can’t grant that power to their elected representatives. They can’t delegate what they don’t have.

3. GROUP SUPREMACY
• Collectivism is based on the belief that the group is more important than the individual. According to this view, the group is an entity of its own and it has rights of its own. Furthermore, those rights are more important than individual rights. Therefore, it is acceptable to sacrifice individuals if necessary for “the greater good of the greater number.
• Collectivists call our government a democracy.
• Individualists believe that the word group merely describes the abstract concept of many individuals. Only individuals are real and, therefore, there is no such thing as group rights. Only individuals have rights.
• A Republic(an) form of government is guaranteed to every state per article IV section 4 of the US Constitution. Also, remember the pledge: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands; one nation under God with Liberty and Justice for All.

4. COERCION VS FREEDOM
• The collectivist says, “There ought to be a law!” And government grows and grows until all Freedoms and Liberties are gone.
• The individualist believes in individual liberty and personal responsibility; and that the federal government powers are limited to those enumerated by the US Constitution.

5. EQUALITY VS. INEQUALITY UNDER LAW
• Collectivists believe that the law should treat people unequally in order to bring about desirable changes in society. People are treated unequally under tax laws and under the laws that provide various programs.
• The individualist believes in equal protection under the law. The individualist also believes that all charity should be voluntary.

6. PROPER ROLE OF THE STATE
• Collectivists believe that the proper role of the state should be positive, that the state should take the initiative in all aspects of the affairs of men, that it should be aggressive, lead, and provide. It should be the great organizer of society.
• Individualists believe that the proper function of the state is to protect the lives, liberty, and property of its citizens; nothing more.
• When the state is granted the power to provide for some, it must also be able to take from others, and once that power is granted, it always leads to legalized plunder and loss of freedom. If the state is powerful enough to give us everything we want, it is also powerful enough to take from us everything we have.

I believe that the individualist is in compliance with our US Constitution and that collectivism is not in compliance; and that the collectivism that our country is illegally practicing is leading us to tyranny.