Individualism is a popular ideology today. Everybody wants to live one's own way, free of all control. "Be what you are", "Don't let others tell you how to live your life" — These words pass for wisdom these days. Well, I won't say that one should give up one's individualism, but the kind of people I see fighting for their "rights" and the intentions they carry, that frightens me sometimes. A few days back I was having a discussion with a couple of friends about morality and desirability of social control, and at some point one of them said: we have no ethical/moral obligation towards society. He even went on to say that everyone has a right to be a jerk (as long as one isn't directly harming anyone else). Oh boy!
He who says he has a right to be a jerk as long as he isn't harming anyone doesn't know the fundamentals of human world. He clearly doesn't understand what it is to be a member of the civilized society, and how our world works. No one has a "right" to be a jerk; in fact, everyone has a "duty" to live in the interest of the society. To understand how, let's look into what society is —
Society is a group of interdependent individuals who have aligned each-other's self-interests to maximize their welfare. It's a thoroughly interconnected system. Therefore, any change in one part of the society affects related individuals through chain reaction. When one is sick, one goes to the clinic/hospital where someone is employed to serve one. Hadn't it been a "society", the person who is doctor could be doing something else, instead of binding himself to one profession for all his life. What we have is like division of work and responsibilities whereby we enjoy higher efficiency and higher welfare. Every person, by virtue of being human, is a party to the implicit contract that is society. If there were no doctors, no engineers, no farmers, no dairymen, then humans would not be living this comfortable a life. Dependence would be much less, but so would be welfare. Totally remove dependence and we are in a jungle! Apparently, those who believe they are "independent" don't see this.
This system is society. In society, everybody's life is so intricately interwoven (and higher welfare is the purpose) that it is everybody's responsibility to act in the common interest, that is, in the interest of the society. That doesn't preclude anyone from having fun (besides, higher wellbeing itself is fun). And granted, no one has good enough judgement to understand with total precision what is best for the society in every situation. But if there is anything that maintains order in the society, and can sustain the comfortable life that we currently have, it is cooperative and responsible behavior, and not the pursuit of selfish individual goals on the name of individualism. Society is a delicate organism. And it's a mistake to think we are not a part of the organism. We may not realize it – because we have got so used to it – but we are continually interacting with other agents of the society for our living. If the system disappeared, maybe we can't survive at all individually; or at least that survival would not be pleasant.
Now looking at society another way: Society is like a corporation whose interest is to maximize the welfare of its members. (That way we can view it as a "cooperative society" too.) Each member is rewarded according to his contribution (like employees have different salaries), but no member has a right to remain idle, much less a right to be a jerk. He who is not contributing anything to the goal of the society (which is collective welfare) is a freeloader and can be pressurized to be productive. And he who engages in activities which the effective majority in a given society views as detrimental to the social good would be punished by the society. Here, of course, I won't say that the majority in a society is always right, but nor is an individual who rebels always right. Due to the complexity of societal structure, there will always remain this tension between individual and society in many areas. However, the point of this article is that it's a good idea to understand what society is, and why social good matters more than individual good.
Society is a system of interdependence for optimum welfare; and belonging to one isn't a choice. Therefore, individual freedom is a delusion which has to be enjoyed within certain boundaries. Claiming total freedom in society is immature to say the least. A human being in civilized world is born directly into a society. To think that society is an illusion, or that one is (or can be) totally free and independent individual who doesn't have to care about social welfare (welfare of others) is a monumental error.
And here comes morality. Simply said, morality is an informal rule of conduct for healthy coexistence in a society. Therefore —
Social responsibility = moral behavior
We do have moral obligation towards the society in the form of cooperative and responsible conduct. To refuse to accept this is to refuse to be a mature, adult human being.
This brings to mind: back in my spirituality days I received many a praise for saying this: "An enlightened person lives on the tune of Nature. He doesn't need to know what is moral or immoral." Now I say enlightened my ass! One must be a narcissist of the highest rank to have such a thought!
He who says he has a right to be a jerk as long as he isn't harming anyone doesn't know the fundamentals of human world. He clearly doesn't understand what it is to be a member of the civilized society, and how our world works. No one has a "right" to be a jerk; in fact, everyone has a "duty" to live in the interest of the society. To understand how, let's look into what society is —
What Is Society?
Society is a group of interdependent individuals who have aligned each-other's self-interests to maximize their welfare. It's a thoroughly interconnected system. Therefore, any change in one part of the society affects related individuals through chain reaction. When one is sick, one goes to the clinic/hospital where someone is employed to serve one. Hadn't it been a "society", the person who is doctor could be doing something else, instead of binding himself to one profession for all his life. What we have is like division of work and responsibilities whereby we enjoy higher efficiency and higher welfare. Every person, by virtue of being human, is a party to the implicit contract that is society. If there were no doctors, no engineers, no farmers, no dairymen, then humans would not be living this comfortable a life. Dependence would be much less, but so would be welfare. Totally remove dependence and we are in a jungle! Apparently, those who believe they are "independent" don't see this.
This system is society. In society, everybody's life is so intricately interwoven (and higher welfare is the purpose) that it is everybody's responsibility to act in the common interest, that is, in the interest of the society. That doesn't preclude anyone from having fun (besides, higher wellbeing itself is fun). And granted, no one has good enough judgement to understand with total precision what is best for the society in every situation. But if there is anything that maintains order in the society, and can sustain the comfortable life that we currently have, it is cooperative and responsible behavior, and not the pursuit of selfish individual goals on the name of individualism. Society is a delicate organism. And it's a mistake to think we are not a part of the organism. We may not realize it – because we have got so used to it – but we are continually interacting with other agents of the society for our living. If the system disappeared, maybe we can't survive at all individually; or at least that survival would not be pleasant.
Now looking at society another way: Society is like a corporation whose interest is to maximize the welfare of its members. (That way we can view it as a "cooperative society" too.) Each member is rewarded according to his contribution (like employees have different salaries), but no member has a right to remain idle, much less a right to be a jerk. He who is not contributing anything to the goal of the society (which is collective welfare) is a freeloader and can be pressurized to be productive. And he who engages in activities which the effective majority in a given society views as detrimental to the social good would be punished by the society. Here, of course, I won't say that the majority in a society is always right, but nor is an individual who rebels always right. Due to the complexity of societal structure, there will always remain this tension between individual and society in many areas. However, the point of this article is that it's a good idea to understand what society is, and why social good matters more than individual good.
Society is a system of interdependence for optimum welfare; and belonging to one isn't a choice. Therefore, individual freedom is a delusion which has to be enjoyed within certain boundaries. Claiming total freedom in society is immature to say the least. A human being in civilized world is born directly into a society. To think that society is an illusion, or that one is (or can be) totally free and independent individual who doesn't have to care about social welfare (welfare of others) is a monumental error.
And here comes morality. Simply said, morality is an informal rule of conduct for healthy coexistence in a society. Therefore —
Social responsibility = moral behavior
We do have moral obligation towards the society in the form of cooperative and responsible conduct. To refuse to accept this is to refuse to be a mature, adult human being.
This brings to mind: back in my spirituality days I received many a praise for saying this: "An enlightened person lives on the tune of Nature. He doesn't need to know what is moral or immoral." Now I say enlightened my ass! One must be a narcissist of the highest rank to have such a thought!
sounds like Marxism, anyway the doctor stays in hospital because its a highly rewarding career not because he cares for someone. a garbage picker pics the garbage because he has no other option not because he likes to clean the city.
ReplyDeleteevery individual has right to be a jerk as long as he doesnt mess with the laws, he can even mess with the laws if he can circumvent it some how.
Its the individualistic streak of certain individuals that evolves the society its same like evolution a small mutation gets first tested and if its working then that mutation spreads.. same way the ideas of some individuals become mainstream and part of society if it makes sense.. but the first step here is to go against society and do what you like, if the society sees a point they will follow.