Social We Abuse

Via Arts & Letters Daily an essay penned by Roger Kerr titled The ‘We’ Word: And the Tyranny of the Majority.  From Kerr’s piece.

In modern speech, Hayek writes, the adjective ‘social’ is applied indiscriminately to a huge number of nouns in a way that undermines their original meanings and recruits them into a collectivist cause. Take the idea of justice. Let’s say that this means the fair and impartial application of legal, moral and perhaps customary rules. But precede it with the word ‘social’ and everything changes. Social justice may require redistributing property and treating people unequally. In this way the word ‘social’ empties the nouns it is applied to of their meaning.

The only “we” should be; we are each and every one of us sovereign individuals.  If, individually, each of us would respect the fact, of our individual sovereignty, and every other individual’s sovereignty, the word “we” would not be misapplied.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/29 at 07:57 AM

  1. the word “we” would not be misapplied.
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    This has been really sticking in my crawl for some 10 years now and since 9-11 it has been out of control. And you can’t even argue with people about it cause defensively they’ll say they use it as a catch-all term. We this, we that….. Just stop it. I am not a we, I’m just a me and everybody better just get it straight. They don’t get to include me in their schemes or scenarios, nor would it ever cross my mind to do such a thing.

    Just rooting back thru the archives John, if I erred just say so.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  on  12/03  at  09:46 PM

  2. Don,

    No erring, here.  I’m pleased you consider the archives of what I’ve written worth perusing.

    Posted by John Venlet  on  12/04  at  07:53 AM

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