At the July 8th Creative Sync of TINYisPOWERFUL, Victoria asked me to write some notes on individualism. She was responding to a remark I had made on the use of that word in a sentence where she contrasted our promotion of “creative collaboration, solidarity economies and community-driven change … [with] institutional funding models that prioritize individualism.”

Not enough, I objected. Individualism is one of America’s most active myth. You cannot just name it and move on. So, let me try to make a few random remarks about it and avoid any attempt at a definition which would inevitably limit its territory.

 – Individualism has a highly political content. It defines the relationship between citizens and between citizens and the state. It regards the accomplishment of the self as prioritary and would like to dismiss any interference from the state as an infringement of freedom, although, at times, even a lone rider needs respite, support, even company!

 – Individualism has a historically religious content. Traceable to the Reformation which replaced the role of the Catholic church as exclusive agent of God on earth for personal channels of communication with the heavens. This had immediate, general and personal consequences on believers who, now, can see destiny as their own, although, at times, even a helping neighbor is welcome.

 – Individualism defines socio-economic liberalism, with its incentives to work hard to make it bigger than the other guy (competition), to climb the social ladder of success and wealth (meritocracy), to spend at will and at whim (consumerism), although, at times, a voice of moderation and wisdom is acceptable to slow down the excesses of the market economy.

 – Individualism is much more than whatever I know it can be. One thing I understand though is that the semi-cecity, visual and mental, that opens individualism to criticism is its disbelief in COLLECTIVE IMAGINATION.  Among other misses, this one is crucial. It works to the disadvantage of all individualists in two ways, which reinforce each other and pit the entire social order. On the one hand, the individualists’ skin deep aversion for the state as organizer of social life keeps them away from many possible public roles. On the other, when back in the wilderness out there, they confront all the “others” of the world. Instead of composing with diversity, they insist on their exceptionalism they shunt off and away from the miracles of collective intelligence and – even more crucially – collective imagination. This could make them see other futures, other ways, destinies beyond their own fate. 

Individualism is the source of exceptionalism.

Exceptionalists have no business in participatory government!

Aren’t they the source of the present turmoil? 

Their refusal to draw conclusion, 

From their original condition 

Of humans among humans, 

On the planet which sustains them, 

Could only mean that 

We are doomed …

That would be counting without new generations of artists, activists, educators, scientists, astronauts, farmers and soldiers who do not stand for war, disinformation, ineducation, ecocide … Not in our names.

        This is COLLECTIVE IMAGINATION at work.

TO END THE CULTURE OF EXCEPTIONALISM IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL PRIORITY **

** Inspired by a sentence by Emilie Hache, French sociologist. The original quote reads:”To end the culture of rape is an environmental priority”.

Emilie Hache is a root researcher on ECOFEMINISM.