There are many reasons why the capitalist class, their politicians, and their media constantly focus on the absurd myth of individualism, but one of the most misunderstood reasons for their devout focus on individualism is the way it encourages people to hate each other.
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Anyone who knows anything about America knows that individualism only applies to the working class. Government is always ready to support corporations and the capitalist class while largely ignoring the needs of workers. Government’s brazen obedience to the corporate masters at the expense of our lives and safety wouldn’t be possible if government and its corporate masters weren’t able to convince many people that all problems result from individual choices and mistakes. By focusing people on supposed individual failings and by promoting individual responsibility, government convinces people to disrespect and ultimately hate others.
The government’s response to covid is a stark example of this. By constantly saying people need to assess their personal risks, government is convincing people to blame those who either have no choice but to wear a mask or who understand it’s the right thing to do. By putting the responsibility on individuals, the government is deflecting attention away from its monumental failure and the reality that it would rather kill seniors and people with disabilities than develop a coherent strategy to manage the pandemic.
Government officials aren’t as stupid as their policies make them look. They know there are people who can’t assess their risks in an environment where most people don’t care about the risks they face. The government officials know they are subjecting some seniors and some people with disabilities to a life of isolation and little ability to go to public events. Government officials know average people can’t assess the ventilation in the buildings they visit. Government officials know most people, having been indoctrinated into believing the myth of individualism, will not take precautions solely to protect other people. Government officials know these things and they count on them. They want to be able to say they gave some guidance and blame the public for not following it.
By developing strategies devoid of scientific credibility and by adopting policies amounting to eugenics, government is once again showing everyone how expendable we all are viewed. By focusing on individual responsibility, government is convincing many to believe they are right in ignoring the communal consequences of letting covid continue running wild.
When things go bad this winter, government will turn its toxic individualism, as it has done for the last couple of years, on people who don’t wear masks and people who don’t get vaccinated. While those people’s selfishness is part of the story, government will ignore its role in promoting and reenforcing the selfish behaviors.
Worst of all, government will use the focus on individualism to distract from its unwillingness to fund adding proper ventilation to public buildings, its guidance that forced infected people back to work, its unwillingness to provide assistance to people whose employer won’t provide proper time off, and a host of other guidance based around ensuring corporate profits at the expense of millions of lives.
The next time you hear someone going on about their individual rights or using individual responsibility to blame someone for what is at least partial governmental indifference to the wellbeing of most Americans, remember this and think about how brainwashed that person has become. If people don’t understand American individualism is a toxicity used to injure and kill us for corporate profits, government will always kill and injure us at the behest of its corporate masters.