Fundamental Principles Of Modern Individualism

All modem Individualists take a pluralistic view of the State. They believe that the State is one of the many social associations, that the society is an “association of associations”, “a community of communities”, of which the State is only one. Secondly, the State, being only one of many associations, does not enjoy any moral superiority over others.

It is merely a piece of administrative machinery useful for coordinating the activities and adjusting the claims of the conflicting groups and associations. Thirdly unlike the Idealists, modern Individualists do not support the belief that the State has better claim to the unquestioning allegiance and loyalty of its citizens, or that the State is a real personality and possesses a real will over and above the personality and will of the individuals living in it.

On the contrary, they assert that the groups and associations have as much claim on the loyalty and allegiance of their members as the State. Indeed, if a better device to preserve peace and adjust social relations than the State could be devised, they would even scrap it altogether from human society. The most important exponents of Modern Individualism are Norman Angell, Graham Wallas and Miss Follett.

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