"Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. Society is a joint-stock company in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each share-holder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater."
I see greed every day, as do we all, in its various forms. However, the greed which has enthralled our society is as disgusting as it is frightening. It is not a greed for success and happiness, for that is man's highest ambition. Instead, it is a greed which disguises itself in the semblance of altruism, and seeks, consciously or not, to place man in a state of mediocrity and strife.
This greed has found its home in the collective, those masses of men who wish to hide their own inferiority by attacking the virtues of those around them. The collective celebrates altruism, calling itself a gift to the weak and the poor. It claims that, by moderating the powerful and the successful, it has provided equality for all mankind, but it uses this equality as a mask for its true motives. The collective is full of fear, fear that an individual will rise up and prove a more capable entity, and will, through hard work, take the collective's power. In response, the collective rises as one, as wolves band together to kill their prey, and subdues this individual through a combination of physical and verbal abuses. The collective uses the destruction of the individual's power to ensure its own, hiding the injustice behind banners of fraternity and utilitarianism. In this way, the "gift" of equality has become a source of the most despicable form of greed.
Even more frightening is the emergence of the "anti-individual". Often times, a person finds himself leading the assault on individuality, and, upon this discovery, takes up the mantle of "savior of the masses" or "defender of the proletariat" (i.e. Lenin, Stalin, Hitler). This man is no individual, but its polar opposite. He uses his sway over the collective to destroy the individual. In this corrupt system, the man who is best at destruction, the man who epitomizes mediocrity and stagnation, is the man who is most highly praised.
These broad generalities should not distract us from the collectives which we allow to form, neigh, which we are a part of, in our everyday lives. Emerson wants us to realize that our fear of others' superiority is not only present in broad political terms, but it invades the classrooms, the playing fields, and even our relationships. We see it in the rich kid who is made fun of simply for being born to an affluent family. We see it in the intelligent child who does not raise his hand in class for fear of being made fun of. We see it in the shame a student has upon receiving a high grade and "ruining the curve." We see it when a teenage boy reveals his emotions to his friends, only to have his emotions turned into a joke. We see it in every facet of our lives, and, unless one is perfect, we partake in this practice ourselves.
It is this greed which Emerson warns us against. However, he not only gives us a warning, but provides us with a means to fight the collective. Self-reliance allows us to ignore the masses, and to accept other individuals for who they are. Self-reliance not only creates self respect, but it infers a sense of, if not respect, at least indifference towards others. Thus, it is self reliance which will ultimately allow us to progress past our pernicious greed, and towards our individual pursuit of happiness.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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