In 2023, G. Edward Griffin published a 49-page booklet called ‘The Chasm: Collectivism vs. Individualism’.
Introducing what Griffin refers to as “the chasm,” he said, “It may surprise you to learn that most of the political debates of our time – at least in the Western world – can be divided into just two viewpoints … the ethics of collectivism and individualism. Those words have profound meaning, and they represent an ideological chasm that divides the entire Western world.”
Griffin has studied collectivist literature for over 60 years. From “early on, it was clear that there are certain recurring themes, what may be considered as the seven pillars of collectivism,” he wrote. “If they are turned upside down, they become the seven pillars of individualism.”
“In other words, there are seven concepts of social and political relationships; and, within each of them, collectivists and individualists have opposite viewpoints.”
The 7 pillars of collectivism Griffin identified are:
1. The Origin And Nature of Human Rights. The individualist assumption is that rights are inalienable and the innate possession of the people. The purpose of the state is not to grant rights, but to secure them and protect them. Individualists believe the state derives its power from the people.
By contrast, all collectivist political systems embrace the opposite view that rights are granted by the state. Collectivists believe states have powers that are greater than those of their citizens, stemming from the doctrine of “the greatest good for the greatest number.”
2. Group Supremacy. Collectivism is based on the belief that the group is more important than the individual. Therefore, the individual must be sacrificed, if necessary, for “the greater good of the greater number.”
On the other hand, individualists say that the word group is an abstraction and doesn’t exist as a tangible reality. You can’t touch a group. You can’t see a group. All you can touch and see are individuals.
3. Coercion vs Freedom. Rights and responsibilities go together. If only individuals have rights, then it follows that only individuals have responsibilities. If groups have rights, then groups also have responsibilities.
Individualists are champions of individual rights. Therefore, they endorse the principle of individual responsibility, not group responsibility, and voluntary collaboration in collective action to solve problems.
Collectivists declare that individuals are not responsible for charity, raising their own children, providing for ageing parents or even for themselves. These are group obligations of the state.
In short, individualists expect to do it themselves; collectivists want the government to do it for them and see government as the one group that can legally force everyone to participate.
One of the quickest ways to spot a collectivist is to see how he reacts to public problems. No matter what bothers him in his daily routine – whether it’s littering the highway, smoking in public, dressing indecently, bigotry, sending out junk mail – you name it, his immediate response is ‘There ought to be a law!’,” Griffen wrote. “Collectivists believe in coercion; individualists believe in freedom.”
4. Private Property. The abolition of private property is collectivism’s mantra. “No matter whether it is Communism, Socialism, Fascism, Nazism, or any other variant [e.g. Technocracy], all the high priests of collectivism are in agreement that private property must be replaced by so-called public property under the direction of benevolent administrators for the good of all,” Griffen said.
“Private property is a prerequisite for independence and freedom. Without private property (including money, which is a form of property) we cannot obtain the necessities of life … If we have no property, then we are [the] property” because we depend on others for our survival. “That is why every variant of collectivism … demands the abolition of [all] private property.”
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