Thanks guys. I'm really glad that some of you were able to understand the concept I was trying to convey. Thanks again.
No such entity as society? That is like saying no such entity as a family..... Or no such entity as a team..... Or there is no such entity as a gaggle of geese, a pack of wolves, a pride of lions..... It is the proper balance between the needs of the collective and the needs of the individual that enhances both the collective and individual accordingly. Yes, I realize this concept may be way above the heads of many on this board... `No Man is an Island` No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of they friends`s or of thine own were. Any man`s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. John Donne (1572 - 1631)
The above collectivist thinking by our very own Dr. Floyd Ferris is exactly why governments commit attrocities against individuals for the good of 'society', 'the white race', 'Allah', etc... Borg thinking of this sort often results in individuals' rights getting trampled for the good of some imaginary non-entity. It happens over and over again throughout history, yet the collectivists never learn.
Governments don't commit attrocities, people do. The individuals in the government are the actors, not the entity of government. The attrocities you refer to are the result of individuals who act in their own best interest and not in the interest of the collective. The leaders may speak of the good of the collective, but they act only to enhance their own individuality at the expense of others, this has been the history of mankind. It is not the failure of the system of government or the nature of a societal structure, but rather it is the failure of the components of the system, namely the individuals who become corrupt through the acquisition of power or abuse the power that they do have. If you have ever been in an adult and healthy relationship where there was intimacy and functional mutual dependency of any type, you know that the process is one of compromise, negotiation, and balance between the needs of each individual and the needs to maintain the structure of a couple that serve the needs of the individuals. A fully black and white vision of pure collectivism or pure individualism is the hallmark of a fanatic. It is not us and them, it is after all we.
Ah but it is the "collective" framework that gives them the power.. Hence the collective is an EVIL concept. Worthy of dissolution... and Deconstruction. X-X < ___________
ART, I found a nice little quote from a book I'm sure you'd enjoy...as the author clearly shares your fondness for the collective above the individual. <i>"I know, as certainly as it is possible for a man to know anything, that the Order will not fail me if I do not fail it. The Order has a life which is more than the sum of the lives of its members. When it speaks collectively, as it did Monday, something deeper and older and wiser than any of us speaks- something which cannot die. Of that deeper life I am now about to partake."</i> Can you guess which book this was taken from? If not, I'll tell you in a minute... as I'm sure it would make a fine addition to your personal library.