From: Tom Lane
Columbus
In our very complex and integrated world, it is hard to find a root cause of all our problems, but I would contend that the following may be the root. Most of us do not go to root causes of anything. We find that too mentally difficult since it constantly raises more and more complexity. We seem to like simplicity and easy answers.
We seem to be divided into people who believe that the “individual” is the basis of all our solutions. And we have the people who believe that the “social/collective” options are the solution. Both sides at their extremes are adamant that they have the solution.
The “individualists” are convinced that if you let nature take its course, a survival of the fittest mentality would work. Life is about each and everyone of us competing against our fellow man for gain. We should reward the most merit, and if most people don’t succeed, it is their own fault for not working hard enough. “To the victor goes the spoils” is their mantra. Even when most of them are not on the winning end of this game.
I saw this “rugged individualism” in many top execs I worked with. They were mostly out for their own gain, even to the detriment of the company. They believed hard individual work would make the company better, even when it pitted person against person and department against department, all to the detriment of the whole.
The other side of this was the “we are all in this together” group. Its members at the extreme seem to not like personal excellence, not favoring one group or individual over another and certainly not compensating some so much more than the masses. Their mantra was, “we are all equal and valuable.” And, of course, this has great value, but not when it diminishes individual excellence. It is not an either/or situation. We need a balance of these two world views.
Humanity has progressed greatly by the innovations, discoveries, risk and pioneering of so many individuals. History tends to leave out the background people, the crew, the supporters, the builders, the ones that let that individual succeed. We like to pretend that they “did it by themselves.” They did not, and it often is a personal desire for excellence that started the ball rolling. But, no one succeeds by themselves.
We seem to have this political world of the “individual” (Trump) and the collective (Democrats) and want to decide which is “right.” It is the wrong question and decision. We need excellent leaders who are personally excellent and who value the contribution of the many. To build a world of only the individuals is to build a world of constant competition and destruction, for power and control for the few. To build a world for all of us requires that rare talent to value individual excellence based on making the whole work for the many.
