Time and Place for Modern Collectivism
Abstract
The article considers the problem of preserving, supporting and developing collectivism as a traditional spiritual and moral value. In modern society the principles of individualism have become the normative basis, i.e. the primary pursuit of private rather than group interests, thus the understanding of the phenomenon and concept of collectivism as historical and outdated has become widespread. The author shows that this idea does not correspond to contemporary reality and does not meet the challenges of the current time. On a theoretical level, collectivism and individualism are not independent entities. There is a certain balance between them, corresponding to the adaptive needs to the situation of a particular society at a particular time. The confrontation of the two systems in the 20th century significantly changed the balance between collectivism and individualism in favor of the latter. Despite the naturalization of individualistic discourse, this shift was not a foregone conclusion, but was created. The article consistently addresses three subjects: the relationship between the concepts of collectivism and individualism in the perspective of social theory in the second half of the 20th century; the foundations of capitalist individualism; finally, to the time and place for modern collectivism that arise from the imbalance between collectivism and individualism. The individualism as a basis of modern capitalism turns out to be contradictory for the very existence of society, its harmonious development and the achievement of those goals (free self-realization) that are declared as the main ones. The current situation opens up opportunities for a conscious appeal to the values of collectivism, which transform from historical to modern and provide the person with the opportunity to self-express.
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