Mar
16
Written by:
BMTT Staff
3/16/2009 3:06 PM
The Faultiness of Individualism
By Marlon Aldridge, Sr.
March 16, 2009
The term individualism is familiar to most of us and has been reinforced at many levels especially in academic, political, and media arenas. We see its evidence in the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution; we see and hear it mentioned in academic settings as it relates to personal freedom; and we hear it being pushed daily in print, radio, television, etc. We cannot escape its continual reinforcing effects. I suspect that this is by design. “Laissez-faire” is everywhere: “capitalism, unrestrained individualism, self-centered, self-serving, narcissistic, competitive self-promotion and careerism”. These ideals negate the concept of “civilized society”. Imagine the most advanced societies getting that way with hordes of their citizens doing as they individually pleased. But more germane to the present discussion, the results of these propagandized, alien liberal ideologies have devastated Black communities regardless of where they reside. Their “wholesale adoption” by us also runs counter to original African cultural values and precepts such as unity, collective work and responsibility, and cooperative economics.
Is the faulty ideal of individualism as articulated by European, liberal intellectualist establishments and its American confederates and as practiced by uncritical, Black leadership establishments and their constituents one of the root causes of disorganization in Black communities worldwide? I argue in the affirmative and call for more cross-organizational cooperation within Black societies.
First, empirical evidence has it that negative factors like disproportionate unemployment, educational attainment, income, net worth, and incarceration rates between Blacks and non-Blacks are highly correlated to poor political and economic realities within Black communities. Poor social relations are also a nexus for these same negative factors. Where these outcomes are good one is sure to find a high measurement of organization and cooperation. Where these outcomes are bad one is sure to find a high measurement of disorganization and lack of cooperation. Sure, some individuals have a high measure of success in our communities, which in my opinion, is due to luck. I define luck as preparation meeting opportunity. Opportunity is an advantageous chance. I’m sure that most of us know people that were prepared but never had the opportunities that more successful, luckier people have had. This is why I say that individualism, in and of itself, is faulty.
The history of individualism goes back far in time. I understand the old arguments about the nature of knowing and how some think that we are born with innate knowledge that is activated upon exposure to decision-making opportunities in the environment. They have reduced knowledge (a human concept) and thus reality to a biological determination (e.g., DNA). With a little thought, one can see racist arguments arising from this conclusion. Eugenics also falls under the purview of biology, thus the call for genocide in the eyes of some and the call for birth control or sterilization by others.
My argument against the supremacy of individualism is that we can no more separate an organism from its environment than we can separate individual elements from the environment itself. When we do, we see disequilibrium or lack of balance. When disequilibrium occurs, the natural tendency is to achieve re-equilibrium. This process implies a high level of organization in nature. Even the parts of the human body are highly organized. Shouldn’t Black society maximize its organizational power? Again, I argue in the affirmative.
Secondly, individualism has run amuck in Black communities. We are reminded of it every day when we turn on the television or radio. Oprah, Tom Joiner, Michael Eric Dyson, TD Jakes, Bill Cosby, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Sean “P Diddy” Combs, and others brand only their names, which in and of itself is not a bad thing, but is mostly all we see. How often do Blacks brand products and services or franchise business opportunities, which have the benefit of increasing economic activity within our communities? Individual activity is easier and more practical than collaborative endeavors, but can it lead to a more advanced, organized society for us? Evidently not! Over the last forty years in the United States, the disparity in income, net worth, educational attainment, and economic activity between Blacks and non-Blacks has remained stagnant or has worsened despite many individual successes.
Earlier I mentioned that individualism was propaganda promoted by European, liberal intellectualist establishments and its American confederates. The truth of the matter is that some parts of Europe and America in particular are highly organized and collaborate on many social levels. Their vocabulary alone suggests their cooperative nature despite their “mythology of individualism”. I provide a small sample here: North American Free Trade Agreement, North American Alliance for Economic Development, European Union, Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals, social networking, joint partnership, joint marketing agreement, co-branding, affiliations, clubs, memorandums of understanding, revenue sharing, franchise agreements, publicly-traded companies, and the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ). I could go on and on but the point is clear; advanced societies cooperate on many different levels.
Finally, from a cognitive developmental standpoint, human organization and adaptation provide stability especially when new human experiences (e.g., learning opportunities) have been worked out. The operative word is stability. Stability allows us to better overcome moments of turbulence and despair. Social systems that have high measures of stability are less prone to manipulations like propaganda and adjust quickly to new situations such as the current global economic turmoil.
The Black Man’s Think Tank provides a model for cooperation among Black organizations especially those devoted to economic development, healthcare, education, and crime prevention. Our major strategy is the facilitation of strategic partnerships among like-minded predominately Black organizations. Our ultimate aim is that we become more organized, more resourceful, more informed, more interdependent, and more productive in our daily work. The whole world stands to benefit if we do our part; it is our moral obligation.
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Copyright ©2009 BMTT
5 comment(s) so far...
Re: The Faultiness of Individualism
The article is both insightful and though provoking, in the sense that individualism could be one of the major crutches, that can be corrected within our community. Passion for one another in our community must return.
By Parris Carter (BMTT Member) on
3/17/2009 11:22 PM
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Re: The Faultiness of Individualism
My comment would be this (we have all of these churches) in all of the communities, we have members of the N.A.A.C.P. here in our own back yards, we have members of the Masonic Order both black and white, we also have members of the order of the Eastern Stars here in our back yard, we also have a lot of people wanting to help do something to help better our communities, but we all need to get on the same page, and work together.
By kenneth candler on
9/8/2009 5:35 AM
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Re: The Faultiness of Individualism
I am a member of the NAACP and I hold the title of 3rd Vice President. I have been involved in the community for many years in trying to create a true sense of community. However, the issues that we deal with are very complex. It is upon the leadership to create a plan that the community will trust. We have no trust with one another and until that takes place, I believe that we will continue to spin are wheels. Think about it? How many people do you know that are members of the BMTT, or NAACP or organizations like them. The masses have no trust in these organizations as a whole, primarily because the true leaders in our community do not support them. The true leaders in our community are the pastors and the ministers. Some of them have there own agenda and are independent of black organizations that may espouse a different form of thinking than they believe in. You see the churches job is not to save the community, but to save souls if you can believe that. And until the church realizes that in the process of developing progams and working along side other organizations that will help develop our people educationally, economically and so forth no souls willl be saved. The church understands that if we don't get to involved with the day to day struggles of the people in the community and only focus on the congregation we will continue to be the self-serving establishment that has help ruin the community. Personally, I don't even acknowledge some of the churches in my community in part of there individualistic ways. I believe that until this changes nothing will ever be resolved, we will continue to pray that things will change instead of getting out and through the strength of God making these changes ourselves. Taking responsible for self and in the process helping your fellow brotha or sista.
By Brian Dunson on
9/11/2009 4:53 PM
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Re: The Faultiness of Individualism
Parris, Kenneth, and Brian, it appears that we are more united than you think. We consider "passion", "togetherness", and "helping one another" central to our advancement. Yes, our organizations are central to our political, economic, and social pursuits. An organization, by definition, is more than one person working together to achieve common purposes. Right here we have four, so what are we waiting for. Marlon
By ohioadnet on
9/11/2009 7:34 PM
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Re: The Faultiness of Individualism
It amazes me to see that we as a culture claim to be a close nit of good folk- yet if one does not agree with the other, whom live in the same community, will dagger the other with such negative energy, I'm sure there have been groups before speaking on the same level, and in some-what introduced the term working together, at the same time end up going ass-trae, On the outside looking in and , I see so much hate among brothers, And now that a brother has wiped the matter out of my eyes, how come there is no one in the NAACP, is speaking on the association between planned parent hood in the inner city communities. Do people really want these young folks to wake up , hummm well i tell you what at some point they will, I just hope theoes individuals who have been turning the other cheek, continue to turn the cheek when them REAL CAT'S START PULLING THE WHITE COATS OF THESE BLACK SHEEP, or let me put it clear - these UNCLE TOM A!! Niggro's in fact a lot of them walk among us now.
You know brother Marlon, some time it takes shaking a brother until all the sh*t comes out and then replentish UNCLE TOM with a sunday meal , Once he's done send him on his way, but before he leaves let him know that his ass aint uncle no more - it's just TOM so when we see him again, SUCKER AINT NO RELATION TOM and pardon me Sit your One dollar ass down before we make change.
GT.
By GT-USA on
4/20/2010 10:00 PM
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