At 09:39 PM 7/5/96 -0400, kelley wrote:
>betty replied that individualism is very important--that you must think and
>act on your own, and not define yourself by a group. in fact, saying I am an
>ecofeminist/feminist/environmentalist defines me by a group.
For me your beloging to this group does not contradict your individualism
because you voluntarily and independently made the decision to join this
group. It is only when there is a collective decision to assign you to a
group that your individualism is denied. If the group who participate in
this discussion also decide, by some agreed process, that you are an
ecofeminist, feminist, environmentalist we have taken a collective position
but we are not 'socialists' because our decision has no coercive power.
If we decide you are not 'one of us' and flame you whenever you try to
participate in our discussions we begin to have an effect on you but I think
this is an acceptable collective action. It is protecting our right to
control our environment so that it does not have a negative effect on us. If
on the other hand we are in power in the State and decide to enforce a
black-list whereby any internet service provider who provides you with
service is 'breaking the law' we have forced you into a group 'socially
undesirables' which no-one would chose for themselves and clearly moved from
protection of EQUAL individual rights to limiting your rights in favour of
ours and imposing our values on you AND others. It is this area of
definition of what is acceptable collective COERCIVE action that I think we
need to do a lot more thought.
>i have had friends tell me that they are getting a tattoo because they want
>to express their individuality, when in fact there are lines of people
>outside the tattoo parlor waiting to do the same thing.
They are right. There is no contradiction in us all expressing our
individuality and belief in individualism by deciding to do exactly the same
thing. I suspect, however, that many of these people are expressing their
support for individualism but not really expressing their individuality.
They are saying I will decide for myself to do this. I will do it in spite
of the fact that it is thought undesirable by mainstream society and that
they would stop me if they could. Many people do not have sufficient choices
available to them to really express their individuality but they can in this
negative way express their intuitive desire for more individualism: the
right to chose and to define for themselves what is 'good' for them.
Helen Marsh: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: +64 9 473 9760
5 Neilon Place, Browns Bay, Auckland North Shore, New Zealand
http://www.iconz.co.nz/~iwgordon
UBINZ - Universal Basic Income - http://www.iconz.co.nz/~iwgordon/ubinz.htm
