It is to be noted also that Individualism does not come to man with any
sickly cant about duty, which merely means doing what other people want
because they want it; or any hideous cant about self-sacrifice, which is
merely a survival of savage mutilation. In fact, it does not come to man
with any claims upon him at all. It comes naturally and inevitably out
of man. It is the point to which all development tends. It is the
differentiation to which all organisms grow. It is the perfection that
is inherent in every mode of life, and towards which every mode of life
quickens. And so Individualism exercises no compulsion over man. On the
contrary, it says to man that he should suffer no compulsion to be
exercised over him. It does not try to force people to be good. It
knows that people are good when they are let alone. Man will develop
Individualism out of himself. Man is now so developing Individualism.
To ask whether Individualism is practical is like asking whether
Evolution is practical. Evolution is the law of life, and there is no
evolution except towards Individualism. Where this tendency is not
expressed, it is a case of artificially-arrested growth, or of disease,
or of death.
Individualism will also be unselfish and unaffected. It has been pointed
out that one of the results of the extraordinary tyranny of authority is
that words are absolutely distorted from their proper and simple meaning,
and are used to express the obverse of their right signification. What
is true about Art is true about Life. A man is called affected,
nowadays, if he dresses as he likes to dress. But in doing that he is
acting in a perfectly natural manner. Affectation, in such matters,
consists in dressing according to the views of one’s neighbour, whose
views, as they are the views of the majority, will probably be extremely
stupid. Or a man is called selfish if he lives in the manner that seems
to him most suitable for the full realisation of his own personality; if,
in fact, the primary aim of his life is self-development. But this is
the way in which everyone should live. Selfishness is not living as one
wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live. And
unselfishness is letting other people’s lives alone, not interfering with
them. Selfishness always aims at creating around it an absolute
uniformity of type. Unselfishness recognises infinite variety of type as
a delightful thing, accepts it, acquiesces in it, enjoys it. It is not
selfish to think for oneself. A man who does not think for himself does
not think at all. It is grossly selfish to require of ones neighbour
that he should think in the same way, and hold the same opinions. Why
should he? If he can think, he will probably think differently. If he
cannot think, it is monstrous to require thought of any kind from him. A
red rose is not selfish because it wants to be a red rose. It would be
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account