Socialists' Ways to Promote Collectivism

Socialists' Ways to Promote Collectivism

Plans

Definition: socialists and collectivism

Briefly explain the socialist’s ideas of collectivism

Link with other socialist’s ideas e.g. common ownership, equality

social class, cooperation..

Recent examples of how collectivism has helped changed the world; how

they have sought to promote collectivism.

Conclusion

Key words to remember….

The term socialists derive from the Latin sociare, meaning to combine

or to share. Collectivism is, broadly, the belief that collective

human endeavour is of greater practical and moral values than

individual self-striving. It thus reflects the idea that human nature

has a social core, and implies that social groups, whether ‘classes’,

‘nations’, ‘races’ or whatever, are meaningful political entities.

Socialists believe that “a collective is more than just individuals

interacting together”. It is the belief that the group is an entity

itself, more important than the sum of the individuals. The

individuals become secondary to the collective. Their well-being and

even their lives are ignored if the group has something to gain.

Individuals are not recognized. They are merely a tool for the group.

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