Individualism (was: Re: Survivor!)

[/ dave /]

Carrol Cox wrote:

> I can not for the life of me see why anyone not seriously brain damaged would want
> to be an individual. Wherever and whenever we find ourselves, we are always
> already implicated in a complex or ensemble of social relations apart from which
> we simply do not exist as human beings.

Carrol, I understand your point about the complex web of social relations of which we are
all a part, but can't get my head around your assertion that 'individuality', as such, can't
or doesn't exist. I think Gordon, in the following excerpt, gets at the heart of the matter
- that individuality and sociability are mutually dependent on one another:

> The consciousness and self-consciousness of the individual are supported by a
> complex web of social relationships in which each individual is a unique and valued
> member.  To the extent that one deprives individuals of their individuality one
> amputates their ability to form communities.

It is one's very consciousness of one's individuality that allows one to perceive his or her
relation to the world at large - one's 'place' in the world. Indeed, in the absence of this
awareness, it would be impossible to 'exist' in any meaningful way because there would be no
basis on which one could see oneself in relation to others in the human community. I'm
guessing you probably actually agree with this on some level but might not understand it as
as individuality per se - perhaps in light of the dual role on the part of the community and
the individual in shaping this relation. But it is a two-way street, and that's why I don't
understand your assertion that a rock can be an individual but a human can't. The human has
the means by which he or she can alter the relationship to the community, and therein lies
the spark of individuality.

Gordon goes on to talk about people being deprived of their individuality and the resultant
attraction - necessity! - of simulacra or 'ready-made' appropriations from media-generated
sources. This, as I see it, has been the epidemic of our times. The absolute key to the
whole issue is this: what are the specific means by which a human being living in a
capitalist state loses to a significant extent the ability and/or the will to participate
actively in the formation and maintenance/upkeep of his or her 'identity' and instead is
compelled to relax this mechanism and turn over control to the monied interests and
political hegemons. It seems to me that understanding this mechanism, how it works and how
to break it, would be a prerequisite for any kind of revolutionary change in a place like
the US of A.

--

/  dave  /