 |
Replica
of Thoreau's cabin near
Walden Pond and his statue |
The
principal political danger of individualism is the lust for anarchy
it can engender. The principal religious danger of individualism is
the lust for self-idolatry it can inflame. Those with anarchistic
fantasies admire Henry David Thoreau’s secluded life at Walden Pond
and his assertion "'That government is best which governs not at
all'; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of
government which they will have." But he wrote as well: “I
ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government.”
Inveterate individualists tend to ignore the fact that Thoreau was an
abolitionist and participated in concerted organized actions to free
slaves—actions that required intense social cohesion. Even his
stay at Walden on property owned by his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson
inherently reached beyond individualism. No doubt inconsistencies
with strict individualism and cohesive action were resolved in
Thoreau's mind through the door of paradox.
The
paradox of individualism is that pristine individualism cannot be
realized in a state of anarchy because in such a state strong-willed
thugs and their gangs end up in charge—totally shredding any
idealist fantasies of freedom born through anarchy. On the other
hand, democratic governments thrive only when integrity of individual
conscience is highly revered. Thus, the highest form of
individualism becomes possible only under the most inclusive and
responsible form of government. As this quandary's solution is
through paradox, we can trust it as reliable and true.
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