This is http://www.essayz.com/a9607201.htm         
Previous-Essay      <== This-Essay ==>     Following-Essay
Click HERE on this line to find essays via Your-Key-Words.
{Most frequent wordstarts of each essay will be put here.}
==========================================================
         %INDIVIDUALISM COMMUNAL PERSONAL INTEGRITY 960720

     Individualism can undermine communal integrity.

     It  is fairly obvious that extreme individualists who
are not interested in communal integrity often act in ways
which  undermine communal integrity---and so undermine the
personal integrity of other persons within  the community.
In   extreme  cases  such  individuals  are  regarded   as
criminals and the community may take corrective actions to
put them in jail.

     It is not always obvious that creative individualists
who  are not interested in communal integrity also act  in
ways which undermine communal integrity---and so undermine
the  personal  integrity  of  other  persons  within   the
community.     Often  such  creative  individualists   are
regarded  as  especially  worthy  of respect,  praise  and
attention; rather than as criminals.   They "stand out" in
favorable  ways and are rewarded  for their  creativity---
even though their creativity is disintegrative of communal
integrity  because  they  are not interested  in  communal
integrity.

     Personal   and  communal  integrity  are  essentially
inter-dependent.    We  cannot  long  enjoy  one  kind  of
integrity  while being indifferent to  the  other  kind of
integrity. Creative  individualists who are indifferent to
communal  integrity  are a threat to the integrity of  the
community and of its personal members.   Communities which
are  indifferent  to  personal integrity are a  threat  to
their own communal integrity.

     It is dangerous to regard creative individualists and
individualists  who  excel  in  competitive  endeavors  as
worthy  of  respect---without giving due consideration  to
how interested they are  in  promoting  both  communal and
personal integrity.
                                                                                                                               
                         (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in      
                    (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)  
                                                                                                                               
==========================================================