The Collective Is the Enemy of Community

"The Democratic Socialists of America exploit young people’s longing for community, but socialism’s coercive collectivism destroys the voluntary relationships that sustain it."

American Greatness

"Is it not, as Nisbet avers, to make sure “man’s alienation from man must lead in time to man’s alienation from God,” and from community into the chill grip of the iron fist of the collective?"

ChatGPT

"Whether reflecting on the impersonal essence of “virtual reality” and the incessant stream of demands and anxieties it imposes upon our diurnal, increasingly alienated existence, or listening to the concerns of one’s fellow citizens, one hears a persistent leitmotif: the longing for true community, especially among the youth.

"One aspect of this longing has been well bruited: people’s gnawing sense that the myth of “virtual community” is an alienating illusion that increasingly leaves them numb and pining for personal engagements—the flesh-and-blood amities, intimacies, and sundry other encounters of true community.

"Exacerbating this sense of loss, especially among the young, people are very concerned about “affordability”—such as the inability to purchase a new home, rent an apartment, find an entry-level job, or keep the one they already have—due to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and inflation. But too often overlooked is how the diminishment of these opportunities has reduced people’s personal interaction and the sense of community it brings.

"Indeed, when people, notably youth, talk about wanting to “shop locally,” support small businesses, or even reject “corporate” entities and their culture, it is not a complete rejection of capitalism. Indeed, one can clearly recognize young people’s embrace of free markets and small businesses. Yet, it is a practical complaint regarding its failures—one of which is its eclipse of community beneath an impersonal corporatism. (One can make the argument that today’s youth are essentially the political descendants of Jeffersonian Republicans, but I digress.)

"Naturally, one group that has not overlooked young people’s yearning for a greater sense of community is the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). They exacerbate youth’s disaffection with the economy by equating corporatism and capitalism and proffer socialism as a virtuous panacea for economic ailments. And, for alienated people yearning for community, the DSA conflates and substitutes the collective for community.

"But the truth is the collective is the enemy of community." . . .  More...