By dissolving the bonds and obligations of family, tribe, and religion, the ruler can make his subjects entirely loyal to and dependent on the state. Liberalism does this in the name of freedom for the individual, while socialism does it in the name of the collective good, but the result is the same (The Total State by Auron MacIntyre, 2024, p22).
Imagine a spectrum with “freedom for the individual” (also called individualism) on the one side, and “the collective good” (also called collectivism) on the other. Where does Freedom fit on that spectrum?
The freeman knows that collectivism leads to being enslaved to the State. But does that mean Freedom is on the individualism side?
In the past, I would’ve said yes. And then I would’ve pulled it back a little. Pure individualism doesn’t need anyone else, so it ultimately becomes isolationism, and isolation isn’t freedom. So, in my mind, freedom couldn’t be pure individualism, but it definitely leaned hard in that direction.
Auron MacIntyre, in the quote above, made me see that’s wrong. Both individualism and collectivism result in dependency on the State. They are two paths that have the same destination.
The State enslaves you by enticing you to give up all other relationships. It doesn’t care if you give up your relationships for the collective good or if you give them up for individual freedom—it just wants you to give them up.
If you’re trying to build wealth and you study other wealth builders, you may have heard of FU money. It’s about getting so rich that you can tell anyone and everyone to F You. But that’s just another form of slavery. No wonder so many of the wealthiest people today support the progress of State control. FU money, like individualism, doesn’t protect them from State control—it encourages it.
So what is true Freedom? The freeman enjoys the bonds he has with his family, tribe, and Church. He enjoys the obligations and duties associated with those bonds. He is an individual, but he is an individual in community.
We are individuals, but not like individual billiard balls on a pool table banging into each other. And we are interconnected, but not like water in the ocean indistinguishable from others around us. We are more like individual branches on the same vine, separate and united at the same time.
The only way you can keep the State from commandeering your loyalties and demanding your dependence, is to regularly reinforce your dependence on and your loyalty toward your family, tribe, and Church.
What do you think?
Joseph