Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay
By: Gary D. Barnett
Those who know that they are profound strive for clarity; those who would like to appear profound to the crowd strive for obscurity. The crowd thinks everything is profound where it cannot see the bottom – it is so timid and dislikes going into the water. ~ The Gay Science : Third Book, 173. To be Profound and to Appear Profound, Friedrich Nietzsche
Collectivism, or herd mentality, can only lead to a meaningless life that is devoid of honest living, adventure, love, freedom, happiness, and fulfillment. Societal herds lose the ability to think as individuals, and envy and jealously become the primary driving force of thought. This of course leads to a demand for equality where none is available or warranted, and due to this pathetic psychological state, all that is beautiful and good must be destroyed in order to make room for the mediocre community.
This is the state of America today. This country is made up of groups that require consensus of thought and actions, and this inevitably leads to a hatred for individual intellect and individual independence. The larger the mob, the less important the individual, as uniformity takes hold over all that is unique. Any individual that relinquishes his individuality in order to conform to the group has lost all. Once the herd mentality sets in, the consciousness of self disappears, leaving only weakness and confusion. This state that is the crowd is worthless in every way, and mass despair is the result, as it tears down the exceptional.
The herd mentality is the breeding ground of slavery, as there is no escape from the division that is necessary in order to follow the group. Consider the phenomenon of the party system in the United States today. Republican and Democratic politics are based entirely on conflict, and this dynamic allows for easy control of the crowd by the ruling elite. Any struggle for clarity becomes impossible, as hatred is rampant, and the most common attitude of the mob. This divisiveness is the root of evil among men, and can only destroy harmony.
The postmodern era that has seemingly consumed this country has done nothing less than demand conformity over the individual, and this effort has led to mass mediocrity. The irrelevance of the individual in society is the lynchpin of tyranny, as politics takes center stage, and all policy is driven without any consideration for individual desires. This makes life hopeless and meaningless, and moral decay is a certainty in this environment. Individual consciousness has been replaced in favor of a sort of social conscious, making crowd dominance primary, and unconscious herd thinking reality. This is deadly to the fate of man.
All ideas of worth come from the non-conformist, those with individual intellect. Without non-conformity, ideas disappear, and inferiority consumes society. For the average man, the slave of the state, this inferiority is a comfort, because being a part of the herd seems safe to the lower human, and personal responsibility is not required. But in order to perpetuate this system of group compliance, the slaves must tear down all those he believes to be above him. Due to envy and weakness of mind, he desires to bring all down to his level in order to gain imaginary equality. This is the essence of the egalitarian mind, that all art, beauty, love, and passion should be destroyed in order to claim equality where none exists. If this scenario is ever the predominate basis of society, the downfall of man will follow.
No vibrant society can exist in a state of obedience. While many great minds have discussed the natural desire of man to obey authority, including Sigmund Freud, this trait in man does not allow the capability to seek or claim freedom. The obedient are bound to a life of rule, as that is their nature. The mindsets of the herd are steeped in a deeply religious belief in equality of outcome, and normally have a hatred of dissent and voluntary behavior, and a love for the tyrannical state that can be used to stifle excellence.
Technology has played a major role in the advancement of collectivism because it has lessened the effort necessary to tear down that which is extraordinary and unique. It is not that technology itself is the problem, but easier access to the rest of the herd has allowed mass dissemination of propaganda that helps to destroy that which they envy. Social media has been particularly advantageous to the lower members of society in this effort to destroy the individual in favor of the mob. This is ever worsening because those who dare to practice disobedience, those who do not bow down to the state or to politically correct nonsense, those who continually question authority, and those who denounce all efforts to control the individual, are being isolated and singled out as threats to the Marxist ideology that now consumes this country and its political system.
The West has almost fully accepted the collectivist political ideology, and has done so in order to find meaning in what has become a meaningless existence. The race toward mediocrity is based on a weakness brought about by a lack of self, and a need to believe that being a part of the herd will allow them to feel as if they are contributing to something instead of languishing in a life that is devoid of individual awareness. This has come about due to long held core beliefs and values being thrown aside, and replaced by worship to the false god that is the state.
This ruination of the individual and the idea of self was no accidental occurrence, but stands in stark contrast to what the confused masses falsely believe today. Freedom is not based on equality, and in fact cannot exist in such a society. Those intent on rule understand the weaknesses of the herd, and cater to the fears that are evident amongst them. They use propaganda to breed envy, and use control techniques to advance a loyalty to the state. This helps to create the mob that will voluntarily work as one to destroy all that they fear. This is apparent in the idea of “we the people,” it is apparent in the dishonest idiocy called voting, it is apparent in mandatory state indoctrination centers called schools, it is apparent in the purposely created division at every turn, and it is apparent in the efforts of the herd to fight over which ruler will lord supreme over them.
Only the individual can face this monster called collectivism. Only the individual can defeat the indifference consuming the crowd. Those that reject authority, that reject the state, and that resist all conformity, can be the light for others to follow so that they can escape the darkness that has consumed the western world. These few are the real heroes.
…only one who has risked the fight with the dragon and is not overcome by it wins the hoard, the “treasure hard to attain.” He alone has the claim to self-confidence, for he has faced the dark ground of his self and thereby has gained himself. This experience gives some faith and trust…in the ability of the self to sustain him, for everything that menaced him from inside he has made his own. He has acquired the right to believe that he will be able to overcome all future threats by the same means. He has arrived at an inner certainty which makes him capable of self-reliance.” ~ Carl Jung…The Symbolic Life
Reprinted with permission from LewRockwell.com
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