On individual primacy
I believe that in law, business, and technology individual primacy is almost absolute. That is, the law should do everything possible to maximize opportunities for individuals (and, by extension responsibility) and the community should only be important where one individual’s rights are beginning to trump others (a tough line to draw, I know). Businesses should do the same. Institutions should do the same. So should technology.
My faith in the individual explains why I see businesses, rock bands, and celebrities as identical! I’ve often had trouble explaining why I see them the same, but now it makes sense: all three are examples of individuals trying to take a megaphone to their personas. It explains what I loved so much about Los Angeles when I lived there; many people go there to be larger than they could have been in Topeka. It explains why I actually like the new world of web celebrity.
Indeed, after spending twelve years trying to solve problems with code and studying law for over two years, I’m beginning to think the story of humanity is simply the story of individuals. That is, the best we can do is be the biggest we can be (subject to many qualifications, of course!) and that our communities, our ideas, our arguments, our technologies, our laws, and our institutions are, while important at the time, only moments in time.
I just got out of the shower, and this is the kind of stuff I think about in the shower sometimes. My apologies for the over the top post!
Share on Facebook