Given that the actions of humans vary between the individualistic and collectivistic extremes of their behavior, which do they favor: Individualism or collectivism? In a Capitalist state, as the social system run by the government is affected by the economy run by the market, and the market is affected by the social system run by the government, the social and economic systems of our nation must take into account both the individualistic and collectivistic extremes of human behavior in order to work as if synchronized; each complementing the function and purpose of the other.
I did before surmise that Capitalism and Communism represented the individualistic and collectivistic extremes of human behavior respectively; the terms individualistic and collectivistic representing the tendencies of the majority of society. I have been told that this is not so. That error notwithstanding, the issue I see in Capitalism is that the low and middle classes of society which sustain the upper-class have no bottom-line set by the social institution known as the government. People can become poverse, lose their homes and their families, and even starve. In a Communist society, those who, in a Capitalist society, would thrive if given the incentive of monetary gain would be held back and the progress of a Communist society would invariably halt due to a lack of competition creating an incentive to become the best.
There will, invariably, always be humans who are individualistic in nature; who want to become the best at what they do by surpassing the social and economic status of others. There will also, invariably, always be humans who are collectivistic in nature, and want to give to others regardless of the detriment it may cause to themselves.
The individualistic and collectivistic extremes of human behavior I am describing can be represented as a perpetual “Class warfare”; such as the theory espoused by Marx that all history can be portrayed through the recognition of competition between, principally, an upper and lower-class.
Unlike Marx, I am not espousing equality. Society is not equal, nor is nature. The inequality which exists in our social system is the very product of the fact that there will always be individuals who are both individualistic and looking for self-gain, and who are collectivistic and looking for communal-gain. The inequality which exists in our Capitalistic society of the United States of America is the very engine of competition and incentive to better oneself for self-gain, which advances the human race in its endeavors both social and scientific; it is because of this very fact that it is the job of the market to advance society and provide resources to the people.
However, it is the job of the government to ensure that the progress of the upper-class, those in society who have taken the initiative to better their offering in the marketplace, is not had at the expense of the middle and lower-classes. Therefore, it is the literal role of the State to provide and regulate bottom-line services offered directly from the government to the people, to the most disadvantageous in society, to ensure that none in society are impossibly entrenched in poverty, so that society is as productive as possible with the least amount of resources going to waste. In this way, the State acts as a safety net to the disadvantaged, while allowing the financially-able to pursue their initiatives and produce progressively better products through competition; allowing society to evolve, while minimizing the detriment to the middle and lower-classes.
28 Aug 2010, 10:39 am
