There is much talk about the place of individualism in today’s society, generally lamenting its effects not only from a practical point of view but also in terms of the types of subjectivity it produces, which are profoundly distorted. At the same time, however, there remains considerable confusion about the origins and causes of the phenomenon, about what produces it.
First and foremost, individualism must not be confused with the necessary development of individual consciousness, which should be seen as an indispensable historical process for emancipation. Being free and building one’s freedom requires the development of an autonomous consciousness which, depending on its richness, will determine the quality of the relationship we are able to forge with everything around us, whether other human beings or, more generally, the whole of nature. Individuality, therefore, with its infinite diversity, should be what allows us to take our place in the world, to contribute to it, and to be recognized for it.
On the other hand, there is this unhealthy atrophy, this loss of individuality that we call individualism, which we must consider as a true social pathology and which has only been able to acquire its current dimension through the gradual establishment and totalitarian will of capitalist ideology, which has succeeded in imposing itself worldwide. It is a sad religion that has made egocentrism its creed through the icy waters of selfish calculation.
While individualism certainly existed before capitalism, it was a residual phenomenon that remained fairly marginal and was never able to establish itself in the long term because it existed at its own risk. It was with the rise of the bourgeoisie, the social class that established capitalism with its particular mentality, that the reign of individualism gradually took hold, with every man for himself as the rule of life. It is a poor life when you think about it, since, and this is undoubtedly the most comical aspect of the individualist, he cannot escape a fairly essential need of our human nature, that of finding some recognition of his particular being. However, their egocentrism can only isolate them, condemning them to an incurable loneliness where, at best, they will be recognized for their possessions but never for their being, which can only trigger more or less hidden contempt. All that remains for them then is cynicism as their ultimate refuge.
As Marx and his followers have clearly demonstrated, capitalism is not only an unjust and barbaric system at its core, it is also a process of commodification of the world as a whole. And it is human beings themselves who have been caught up in this commodification of the world and have adopted, under a form of permanent coercion, its implicit rule, namely generalized competition. It is clear, then, that the individualism we are talking about cannot be reduced to an unfortunate character trait of humanity, but is a direct consequence of the aberrant form of social organization that is capitalism, where the most mediocre and petty part of humanity is able to impose its rules on everyone else and against the general interest. This is why the establishment of a society based on the common good, a society of solidarity, where everyone has their place and can give the best of themselves thanks to their individuality finally being recognized, requires as a prerequisite the pure and simple abolition of capitalism, which is its absolute contradiction in everything that characterizes it. This is also why social ecology must root out capitalism in all its forms, whether it be the state, money, alienated labor, the competitive market, or even the very conception of what our declining humanity has been reduced to under its reign.
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