Humanistic-Collectivism

The Greek philosopher Protagoras coined the defining humanist Mantra. He said "Man is the measure of all things." The humanist believes that all truth and morality can and should only be investigated by, and in relation to, man. In other words, Truth and morality cannot come from God or any religion, but man should set his own rules. The humanist believes that mankind's experience on this earth is all their is; therefor, our collective effort should be in the here and now.

Collectivism can be viewed as the idea that the greatest common good can be achieved through shared effort. While this may sound good on the surface, one must ask himself whose idea of "the greatest good" are we trying to achieve. Collectivism also depends upon the cooperation of a community. Their can be no collective effort with total participation, because without total participation, resources are limited. Oh yeah, collectivism feeds on resources. They are the first thing required of its participants. The problem is that most collectivists see participation as mandatory.

To understand the issue of humanistic collectivism, one must only refer to scripture. Genesis 11:1-9 describes the first attempt at the phenomenon. God told Noah, after the flood, to spread all over the earth and multiply and be fruitful. However, under the leadership of the mighty Nimrod the people united into a humanist society dedicated to a collective effort to make the name of their city great, and to minimize and eventually phase out the need for God. They built the tower of Babel. It didn't turn out so good.

As I will discuss in later articles, the heart of this issue (and every political issue) lies in one's belief in God, or the lack thereof. Humanistic collectivism leaves no room for serving God or following the mandates of any religious system. For the humanistic collectivist, the collective (or state) is the highest power one must serve for the greatest benefit in the here and now.

To be fair, their are humanists who oppose collectivism. .

What is strange about the liberal mentality is that most liberal thinkers are fiercely independent. They strive for the individualists ideal. Liberal authors and thinkers like Ayn Rand and George Orwell railed against the collective mentality. With this said, liberals almost always call for more collectivism in government.

The chink in the liberal armor in any philosophical debate is the question, "If you believe so strongly in the individual, why do you believe governmental (collective) powers should be expanded by..." Fill in the blank with any liberal "universal plan" or "social program."

Look at the issues in this campaign. Health care, taxes, immigration, war, terror, etc. Which candidates have collectivist ideas about the solutions to these issues.