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The Dangers of Collectivism

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         In a society where others encourage actions based on "the greater good" or the collective, it grows increasingly more difficult to break away from the herd. This essay will cover collectivism both in historical and ideological terms, and aims to defend an individualistic perspective, while exposing the dangers of collectivism.          During communist Russia, "the greater good" was often used to suppress dissent, forcing people to shut up about any violations of human rights. People were brainwashed into thinking a violation of human rights served a greater goal to help the collective. In Solzhenitsyn's "The Gulag Archipelago", he explains the sort of "fake democracy" that Russia had during the time. In these kinds of democracies, the state would set up a scenario where one had two options, but one very bluntly benefitted them and one hindered them. Moreover, the "benefit" did not actually help them, but only boosted their...

Introductory Reading List

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  This list consists of fiction and nonfiction works varying from analyses of history, psychology, philosophy, as well as literary and fictional works that observes some of the same topics as well as contain brilliant topics for discussion. Fiction: Political Literature/dystopian: - 1984 - George Orwell - Animal Farm - George Orwell - We - Yevgeny Zamyatin - Anthem - Ayn Rand - Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury - A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess - The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck - One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee - The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald - Brave New World - Aldous Huxley - Harrison Bergeron - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. - Candide - Voltaire Philosophical Fiction: - The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky - Notes from Underground - Fyodor Dostoevsky - The Idiot - Fyodor Dostoevsky - Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka - The Trial - Franz Kafka - The Stranger - Albert...

The Importance of Reading

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                                        “Despite the enormous quantity of books, how few people read! And if one reads profitably, one would realize how much stupid stuff the vulgar herd is content to swallow every day.” Voltaire                In our day and age, conformity, as previously stated, is rampant. Once we open our eyes to this sickness and delusion, the quicker we can ask the question: What can we do? Answer: educate yourself and read . Avoiding conformity poses a difficult task, and be assured; if you are not educated, you will stand no chance against the herd.                When I suggest reading, I certainly do not mean that postmodern drivel that somehow manages to be called a 'book'. 'Literature' today serves as petty ideological manifestos and identity politics. They only...

Conformity: The Dangers of Social Media

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                                     Everyday, our lives revolve around social media. According to Pew Research Center, around 72% of U.S. adults use social media. A survey conducted by the Mayo Clinic of 750 teens showed that 45% are online constantly, and 97% use major social media platforms. In all of social media, the 'scrolling' platforms appear to pose a tremendous issue.               Why should we care? Social media acts as a silent ghost. It seeps its way through our culture and media, slowly sucking adolescents into its addictive trap. Psychologically, social media, indeed, acts the same way as gambling, and thus, as you can infer, can pose the same addictive dangers as well. It connects so well to gambling, but instead of a cash prize, it gives the viewer a rush of dopamine. Social media and slot machines both serve in a variabl...

An Introductory Essay: Concerning the Purpose of this Site

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                 In modern days, we have seen the world increasingly being divided by opposing ideological forces, which can typically be summed up in two opposite ideals on the totem pole: progressivism and conservatism. However, identifying with either of these ideologies invariably correlates with conformity.                 Siding with either ideologies means adjusting core values and aligning them with forced beliefs that results in dangerous role switching. Not only that, but it makes you blind and ignorant to objections to your philosophy. Nietzsche summed it up perfectly in his book Beyond Good and Evil  when he said to "beware of martyrdom" and "suffering for the truth's sake". According to him, it " spoils all the innocence and fine neutrality of your conscience; it makes you headstrong against objections and red rags; it stupefies, animalizes, and brutalizes when in the st...