the individual vs. the collective

I have been thinking about the words community, communal, communism, without the baggage of history. I may be stating the obvious here, but what's happened in the past 20 years is that capitalism has taken over the world. We have been brainwashed by the corporatocracy to believe that 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' can only be achieved by individual gain. To be successful means to be independent with the power to acquire whatever we want. An overabundance of commodities have been produced to keep feeding that idea of success. Now here we are, alone, with all of our things. Education under capitalism has taught us that more is better, to be good at something you have to go to extremes, do it all the time, maintain linear focus. To strive for balance is undesirable, an impediment to the idea of progress or becoming the best. Western capitalism has demonized the concept of communalism because the sharing of resources undermines its fundamental premise: to each his own.

I sometimes imagine myself as an 'alien' watching the human race race towards its annihilation. Modern humans are now able to see how we have developed as a species. Not all of us, but many Americans have increased in body size, have multiple mental and physical disorders, and our children suffer more developmental problems. Contemporary life in this capitalist society is making us ill and we need to disengage to become whole again. If you are reading and writing here, you are the beneficiary of the rewards of our way of life, yet we know that it's an approaching dead-end, or we wouldn't be here. Do we have to implode before we can start over? Is our destiny to be witnesses of the end?

Someone here mentioned that the creators of evolver were writers who took drugs and wanted to become famous. Isn't that what we've all been sold as the alternative to a boring enslaved existence, to become rock stars? We have appeased ourselves by living through our "stars" whether they be entertainers, writers or artists. Capitalism is constantly moving, appropriating, consuming, turning creativity and innovation into money. Let's become entrepreneurs of a new way of thinking. A good idea doesn't have to be hoarded and exploited. It can be gifted, put to use for the common good. Let's change ourselves so we can change our lives.