Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Herd outlook

Individualism vs collectivism has been my long debate and been unable to find clear solution. Or to survive in a society, is there a balancing act between the two premises? Herd mentality is not so uncommon and we will often see one following a flock because its safe. My question is about if each and everyone of us, are so distinctly unique, in our thinking, then what leads to mass to follow a mass? Is it primarily because we are rejecting to think and understand and take responsibility of our actions/analysis? Or we have just trained/taught our brain to function and prevent from all possibilities of fear of rejection?
Tragedy of the commons is the conflict of interest between individual principles with common herd well-being. Reason and reasoning are purely owned by an individual. When an individual subjugates this very reasoning from others' synthesis and judgment is when the rejection of independent thinking begins to concrete. And this blind following caused by insecurity and to gain sense of belonging is dangerous.
Whenever I have discussed Roark from Fountainhead to anyone, I have always heard only one response-"Its hard/impossible to survive like him in a society and do things like he did." Not a single person opined that he was wrong, a loser or a failure. The Fountainhead is about the difference between collectivist and individualist: it shows that the dependent man could never have reason on his side, and that the independent man could never have anything else.
It takes a lot of courage and conviction to stand for truth and values and voice against wrong, sinful and immoral. But with this fear of being quarantined or rejected by "society" (I really need another post for this term), are we going to be supine and wait for more severe repercussion?

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