On Society and the Individual
Society is not a grand design that is planned. Rather, it is the natural outcome of individual actions, choices, and responsibilities. Taken by people striving to live and cooperate in an uncertain world.
On Society and the Individual
Society is the spontaneous outcome of individual action, not a designed collective.
When I think about that idea, here’s what society means to me. When I say “society,” I’m talking about a group of humans living in a given place who interact with each other using a common language. That’s it. Nothing mystical. Just people trying to live and get by.
In any society, big or small, people wrestle with a simple but important question: how much self-responsibility do we really have, and how does that shape our freedom?
Too often, individuals are treated as if they don’t exist on their own, just as pieces of a larger group that supposedly thinks and acts the same way. Within these groups, differences in thought or opinion are ignored. Stereotypes are built on this kind of thinking. Over time, through my own experiences traveling the world, I’ve come to see that this habit of reducing individuals to a collective label is a mistake. A massive one.
Look closely at how people actually live and it becomes clear. From the smallest unit of a family to the scale of a nation, the idea that everyone will think or want the same thing is laughable. From simple preferences like favorite drinks or sports teams to the big questions of politics and the economy, differences will always exist. And that’s not something to fear or try to eliminate. Those differences exist because each of us faces the same unknown future. After all, no one can answer with certainty, “What will tomorrow bring?” The unknown is always there.
Every person faces that uncertainty. No one can see the future. Each of us has needs and wants. Needs to survive, and wants that make life richer and more comfortable. How each person meets those needs is up to them. To take care of themselves, people act. They do things. Naturally, those actions reach outward to others: family, friends, and neighbors.
That’s how it starts. Individuals act to survive and improve their lot in an uncertain world. Change brings both danger and opportunity. When people act, they interact. Those interactions (buying, trading, helping, teaching) become the threads that weave society together.
To put it bluntly: we seek what others have. But that’s not a bad thing. It’s the basis of exchange. When I go to the store and trade my money for something I want, both I and the store gain from it. That simple act, voluntary and peaceful, is what real cooperation looks like.
Now imagine zooming out high into the sky and watching people across the world: a single mom working late, a billionaire’s daughter planning her next move, a tribesman hunting in the forest. You’d see their choices. Their days look different, sure, but the principle is the same. Each is acting to meet needs and pursue wants. That’s not an abstraction. It’s a basic truth that’s been with us since the first humans walked the earth.
To me, that’s what society really is, you, me, and countless others acting every day to take care of ourselves and those we care about. That’s the foundation of human civilization, not a grand design or master plan, but the natural result of individual action.
I think too many folks have forgotten this, that one must act, take initiative when needed, to achieve what they want. It won’t come from anyone else.
Big speeches, bold declarations, and passionate pleas alone make no change. It’s the follow-through, the small, consistent actions inspired by those words, that actually move the world. In this fictional world I’m building, I hope to show that truth.