Emma Rixhon - Philosophy
To what extent are acts of individual rebellion necessary for social progress?
For example, gay marriage has only been approved legally in England this year,
which is a revolutionary act in itself, but the build-up to this decision has taken
dozens of years. This decision is not only social progress in itself, but evidence
that there is a general progress in society’s
view
towards
homosexuals
–
therefore social progress must be a gradual process and not limited to one
definitive action. The individual rebels can only succeed when there is a larger
general consensus for their actions; Gandhi was the figurehead of the movement
for
India’s
independence,
but
he
was
not
acting
as
a
radical
individual,
rather
he
was voicing the opinion of his oppressed people.
The Communitarian View
Gandhi’s
willingness
to
sacrifice
himself
for
the
good
of
his
people
can
be
seen as a communitarian act. Communitarianism is the ideology that accentuates
the
importance
of
communities
and
an
individual’s
relationship
to
their
community rather than individuality and individual flourishing. Contrary to
Mill’s
individualist
notion
that
each
person is defined by their individuality,
communitarians believe that humans are defined by their relationships to other
people. The greatest benefit to communitarianism is that by biological human
nature, we are social beings and therefore it would make sense that our
identities are intrinsically linked to our relationships with others and our
society. Julian Baggini writes,
“In some weak sense, most people, liberals
included,
accept
that
we
are
all
“situated
selves”,
products
of
time
and
place.” 18 This statement ties with the previously mentioned idea that social
progress cannot rely solely on strong individual minds, but also the readiness of
the society they belong to. Social progress has never been attributed to solely
one person, the American civil rights movement has leaders such as Martin
Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X – all of whom had radically different
ideals and strategies but were part of the same movement. Other than Parks,
who may have simply wanted a seat on the bus, these three people definitely
acted for the greater good of their community rather than solely for their own
rights.
The
combination
of
what
Camus
describes
as
“ a feeling of revulsion at the
18
Baggini, J. 2011
212
9