Collectivism: Difference between revisions

From Le Hub/The Climate Justice Organizing HUB
Jump to navigation Jump to search
 
(6 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 6: Line 6:


== Examples of Collectivism ==
== Examples of Collectivism ==
{| class="wikitable" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 92px; background-color: #ffffff;"
{| class="wikitable" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 92px; background-color: #ffffff;"
|- style="height: 23px;"
|- style="height: 23px;"
| style="width: 19.6976%; height: 23px; background-color: #99e1d9;" |
| style="width: 19.6976%; height: 23px; background-color: #99e1d9;" |
Adrienne Maree Brown  <ref>https://transformharm.org/the-fictions-and-futures-of-transformative-justice/#:~:text=adrienne%20maree%20brown.,think%20that%20can%20be%20tricky.</ref>
=== The COVID-19 pandemic ===
| style="width: 80.3024%; height: 23px;" |
| style="width: 80.3024%; height: 23px;" |
''"I tend to think of abolition as one result of transformative justice: abolition is the end of prisons; transformative justice is the methods people use to uproot injustice patterns in communities. I tend to think of abolition as a totality, and I think that can be tricky. People set out to abolish slavery and we ended up with the prison industrial complex because while there were surface and policy level shifts, the culture did not shift. That deep underlying racism and classism remains and is now roaring to the surface as we write this. So, while I identify as an abolitionist, I find speaking about the iterative tangible work of transformative justice makes more sense to me now–I don’t simply want the prisons gone, I want a radically different way of interacting with each other to grow."''
For the initial phases of the pandemic, much of our society followed a more collectivist approach to COVID-19 precautions (though it wasn't perfect). Collectivist messaging related to the pandemic includes, for example:
*Individuals should vaccinate, wear masks and limit unmasked gatherings to limit the spread of COVID. This is to ensure hospital workers are not overwhelmed with patients, and to prevent death, severe illness or long-term disability in others (especially those who are elderly, immunocompromised, disabled or chronically ill).
*This discourse suggests individuals are responsible for contributing to public safety.&nbsp;"''There is no individual safety without collective safety and collective safety requires that no one is safe unless everyone is safe." - Mia Mingus  <ref>https://leavingevidence.wordpress.com/2022/01/16/you-are-not-entitled-to-our-deaths-covid-abled-supremacy-interdependence/</ref>  ''
<br>
|- style="height: 23px;"
|- style="height: 23px;"
| style="width: 19.6976%; height: 23px; background-color: #99e1d9;" |
| style="width: 19.6976%; height: 23px; background-color: #99e1d9;" |
Mia Mingus <ref>https://transformharm.org/the-fictions-and-futures-of-transformative-justice/#:~:text=adrienne%20maree%20brown.,think%20that%20can%20be%20tricky.</ref>  
=== The climate crisis <ref>https://in.mashable.com/science/15520/the-carbon-footprint-sham</ref>  <ref>https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/16/the-age-of-the-individual-must-end-tom-oliver-the-self-delusion</ref>       ===
 
 
| style="width: 80.3024%; height: 23px;" |
| style="width: 80.3024%; height: 23px;" |
''"I understand abolition to be a necessary part of transformative justice because prisons, and the PIC, are major sites of individual and collective violence, abuse, and trauma. However, transformative justice is and must also be a critical part of abolition work because we will need to build alternatives to how we respond to harm, violence, and abuse. Just because we shut down prisons, does not mean that these will stop. Transformative justice has roots in abolition work and is an abolitionist framework, but goes beyond abolishing prisons (and slavery) and asks us to end–and transform the conditions that perpetuate–generational cycles of violence such as rape, sexual assault, child abuse, child sexual abuse, domestic violence, intimate partner abuse, war, genocide, poverty, human trafficking, police brutality, murder, stalking, sexual harassment, all systems of oppression, dangerous societal norms, and trauma."''
*A collectivist approach to the climate crisis understands that we cannot individual-action our way out of the climate crisis. Instead, we must build [[solidarity]] together to face the systems of power perpetuating the crisis.
|-
*Collectivism understands that we are all connected in our struggles for justice, and that together we are stronger.&nbsp;
| style="width: 19.6976%; background-color: rgb(153, 225, 217);" | Amanda Aguilar Shank  <ref>https://brownstargirl.org/beyond-survival/</ref>
*Collectivism suggests we cannot leave any groups to bear the brunt of climate devastation, and that we must support others around the world in their transition, as individual countries alone making the necessary changes will not be enough.
| style="width: 80.3024%;" | Interpersonal harm is inevitable. Abolition imagines that ''"each moment where harm happens is an opportunity to transform relationships and communities, build trust and safety, and grow slowly toward the beautiful people we are meant to be, in the world we deserve."&nbsp;''<br>
*Studies suggest that countries and communities with cultures that follow more collectivist values have a lesser impact on the climate crisis. <ref>https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2019.100198</ref>  
|}
|}
<br>


If you have any suggested revisions or additional resources to share related to the above content, please email them to kenzie@lehub.ca.
If you have any suggested revisions or additional resources to share related to the above content, please email them to kenzie@lehub.ca.

Latest revision as of 16:51, 25 November 2022

Collectivism refers to "a political or economic theory advocating collective control, especially over production and distribution. In collectivism, the whole is emphasized over individual action or identity." -Merriam Webster [1]

Collectivism, in contrast of individualism, encourages cooperation over competition. Collectivist values revolve around what is best for a community and society. Helping others and asking for help from others is not only encouraged but viewed as essential. 

Examples of Collectivism

The COVID-19 pandemic

For the initial phases of the pandemic, much of our society followed a more collectivist approach to COVID-19 precautions (though it wasn't perfect). Collectivist messaging related to the pandemic includes, for example:

  • Individuals should vaccinate, wear masks and limit unmasked gatherings to limit the spread of COVID. This is to ensure hospital workers are not overwhelmed with patients, and to prevent death, severe illness or long-term disability in others (especially those who are elderly, immunocompromised, disabled or chronically ill).
  • This discourse suggests individuals are responsible for contributing to public safety. "There is no individual safety without collective safety and collective safety requires that no one is safe unless everyone is safe." - Mia Mingus [2]


The climate crisis [3] [4]

  • A collectivist approach to the climate crisis understands that we cannot individual-action our way out of the climate crisis. Instead, we must build solidarity together to face the systems of power perpetuating the crisis.
  • Collectivism understands that we are all connected in our struggles for justice, and that together we are stronger. 
  • Collectivism suggests we cannot leave any groups to bear the brunt of climate devastation, and that we must support others around the world in their transition, as individual countries alone making the necessary changes will not be enough.
  • Studies suggest that countries and communities with cultures that follow more collectivist values have a lesser impact on the climate crisis. [5]



If you have any suggested revisions or additional resources to share related to the above content, please email them to kenzie@lehub.ca.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.


Back to Homepage