Collectivism is a form of anthropomorphism. It attempts to see a group of individuals as having a single identity similar to a person. The collective is claimed to have ideas, and can think. It has purpose, and it acts to achieve goals. It even has a personality, called culture. It claims to have moral rules the collective should follow. It claims to have collective rights, as well.
Since the collective is actually just individuals interacting, the collectivists have to change their views of individuals. They morally evaluate people according to the results of the collective. If the collective manages to accomplish something great like land on the moon, every individual is given equal credit. If a nation goes to war, everyone is to blame. And if an individual refuses to acknowledge the superiority of his collective, than he is a traitor and is eliminated. This is the result of collectivism.
Collectivism demands that the group be more important than the individual. It requires the individual to sacrifice himself for the alleged good of the group.
Socialists believe that human beings are social creatures, capable of overcoming social and economic problems by drawing upon the power of the community rather than simply individual effort. This is a collectivist vision because it stresses the capacity of human beings for collective action, their willingness to and ability to pursue goals by working together, as opposed to striving for personal self-interest. Most socialist for instance, would be prepared to echo the words of the metaphysical [poet john donne (1571-1631); no man is an island entire of it’s self; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;… any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Human beings are therefore ‘comrades’, ‘brother’ or ‘sisters’, tied to one another by the bonds of a common humanity. A very recent example that shows that humans can live together as brothers and sisters, helping each other, is the tsunami case. A lot of countries contributed money, materials, etc. to help the victims and also doctors, engineers and geographers were sent to help save lives, to help to re build the community. This suggests that naturally we are one; it is our nature to help each other. This is one of the reasons why socialists are optimistic about human nature.
Socialists are less far less willing than liberals or conservatives to believe that human nature is unchanging and fixed at birth. Rather they believe that human nature is ‘plastic’, moulded by the experiences and circumstances of social life . In a long standing philosophical debate about whether nature or nurture determines human behaviour, socialists resolutely side with nurture. Liberals and conservatives often argue that, at heart, human beings are essentially seeking and egoistical. Socialists on the other hand, regard selfish, acquisitive, materialistic or aggressive behaviour as socially conditioned rather than natural.
Collectivism leads to equality, cooperation, common ownership, and also creates a sense of belonging. Everyone starts at the same time, and finishes at the same time with the same benefits. Wealth is then distributed to everyone equally. this therefore creates common ownership, it also creates a sense of belonging as everyone has everything in common .socialists have sought to promote collectivism by creating welfare state in the uk, thereby removing some forms of class discrimination, e.g. education, health, pension, etc .however, capitalism still exists in the uk, so the introduction of a welfare state cannot remove the class differences in the society. Also, in the world, socialists have sought to promote collectivism by helping poorer countries by contributing to their economy both financially and materially.
