Apparently you are not the only human on earth
Therefore you invariably impact others — and are impacted by others
You came into the world built by others and you will die in a world predominately built by others
How much of your life do you think you can even take credit for?
You are a product of your ancestors, product of your culture, and product of the world you were born into. You have blood of your ancestors, cultural conditioning of your culture, and live and interact with the world you were born into — the modern world.
In the same time you are an individual. Every single moment you choose what you shall do.
Your choice may be entirely, absolutely predetermined by your group, your organisation, your programming, your culture.
But at the end it’s you who suffer the consequences
You may be a group — but you will be impacted as an individual
Therefore you are personally responsible
You can’t escape responsibility. You can’t escape the burden of freedom. You are an INDIVIDUAL
Both of those are true:
—You are an INDIVIDUAL, with personal responsibility
—You are PART of the whole, moving with that whole
Thus it must be understood:
— INDIVIDUALISM doesn’t vanish the existence of GROUP / WHOLE / WORLD
— GROUP doesn’t ACQUIT the INDIVIDUAL (from personal responsibility)
It’s misunderstood
You like to take credit when things go right — and shift the blame when things go wrong.
You want to reap all the rewards when rewards abound — but want to share the burden when going gets tough
You want to be an individual when you win — and want others to carry you when you are failing.
This of course applies as much to material as to immaterial.
You are MORE “INDIVIDUAL” when you BELIEVE it BENEFITS YOU MORE
You are more “GROUP” and “COLLECTIVE” when you believe it BENEFITS YOU MORE
And there’s nothing wrong with that per se!
The problem is that your idea of what benefits you is confused.
It’s informed by petty greed, ego, loss-aversion, indolence…
The truth is that at ALL TIMES you are BOTH AN INDIVIDUAL — AND A GROUP.
(unless you live in a forest)
The truth is that at ALL TIMES you are an INDIVIDUAL — in that you are ALWAYS RESPONSIBLE. For the choices you make.
And then — in VARYING DEGREE — you work more as a group, more as an organisation, more as a culture, more as a movement — or less.
At NO TIME do you escape individuality
And ALMOST at no time are you isolated from the whole
I believe we cooperate too little.
Build communities too little.
Build business and organisations too little.
Build cooperatives too little.
Build TRIBES too little.
Build our networks too little.
Know too few people.
Cooperate with too few people.
Love too few people.
Do business with too few people.
…
I also believe we FAIL to be INDIVIDUALS.
We fail to take responsibility.
We fail to disagree.
We fail to lead.
We fail to do things for ourselves, by ourselves.
We fail to do things OUR way.
We fail to have an INDIVIDUAL VISION.
We fail NOT to compromise.
I yet again find another false dichotomy to actually be two sides of the same coin.
It’s not individual vs group, it’s not be an individual vs build organisations
Those are two sides of the same coin.
Once you understand it — there is no question of taking the responsibility, taking the blame, helping others, having others help you, cooperating, competing…
it all becomes obvious
Obviously you take responsibility. There’s no reality in which you escape INDIVIDUALISM, in which you escape personal responsibility — therefore there’s no reality in which you can NOT take responsibility, period.
Likewise you doing it as a GROUP, vs you doing it as an individual — is a non question. At all times you remain an individual — and at all times IF THE GROUP IS INVOLVED — then you must be mindful of that group — and INTERACT with it
Whether you work for it, work with it, or have it work for you — you INTERACT with it.
Even if you work beside it, “compete” with it — you still INTERACT WITH IT. What you do depends on what they do. What they do depends on what you do. There’s NO ESCAPING it. “Individualism or not” doesn’t change it.
So don’t use “individuality” as an excuse to pretend that you are NOT affected by the WHOLE, by the environment, by the industry, by EVERYTHING, the WHOLE WORLD.
And obviously don’t use the “GROUP”, the “WHOLE” excuse to ever escape personal responsibility, since obviously you can’t.
You must do both — and harder.
Become MORE AND MORE of an individual.
Take more responsibility. Develop more of your personal strengths. Become a more differentiated brand.
In the same time BUILD more organisations, more tribes, more networks. Build beyond you. Build at scale. Build with others.
You must do both
You are an individual
AND you are the world