A conversation I was having this evening wended its way around to the subject of clannish vs individualistic mentalities. Everyone falls into one or the other - safety in community, or freedom in autonomy. I'm not going to argue for one over the other; for one thing I'm not sure if there is a 'right' one and a 'wrong' one, and for another I am highly prejudiced. I don't have a clannish bone in me; frankly that whole culture scares me a bit. Which is funny, because as far as I can tell people from "the other side" fear the individualist mindset. Which side of the divide you happen to fall on probably depends far more on your upbringing and personality than any rational philosophy. There are certainly pros and cons to both paradigms. The Clannites view Individualists as mavericks, loose cannons and chaos-lovers, whereas I see them as rigid, custom bound and close minded. All of the above are at least semi-valid points. Perhaps part of the reason we choose to sit in a certain camp has to do with the old Fate/Chaos dichotomy. From ancient times people have favoured one or the other. Some (including, I believe, FB in a comment on "The Devil You Know...") have theorised that the strong and affluent prefer to believe that chaos rules, while the weaker and more downtrod put their trust in fate. For obvious reasons. This works logically, but in my experience it's a little bit too simplistic of an explanation - I know far too many exceptions to this rule. Ultimately I think that we pick one to cover up or assuage our insecurity. Some fear being controlled and locked into a mold, while others are afraid of having to find their own way. Is it possible to transcend this? I have to say maybe; I'm unwilling to give up hope - but in my limited experience I've never seen it done. Having said that, I'm sure it can't hurt to try.
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