Neurodiversity

The Purpose of An Introvert Civilization

One who is perpetually immersed in society takes all of its features for granted and tends not to perceive the forest for all the trees.

It takes one who is introverted to remove from the tumult and to perceive society as a means, rather than an end in itself.  To stop and ask:

-What is society for?

-Does it promote human happiness?

-How would it better produce human happiness?

-Would humanity be better off without mass society?

An extrovert can scarcely conceive of any other fate than being directly and forever subordinate to surrounding social norms.  When all meaning and value in one’s life comes from within society, anything on the outside is an insane, nonsensical Void.  Indeed one who self-defines by an inner life is not so far removed from mental illness by the reckoning of the masses.  Thus, much of what is written about introversion is about curing it as if it were a disease.

An introvert reaps benefits from civilization yet is chafed by the countless strictures that must be observed just to avoid Social Censure and Commonality Audits.  Thus improvement of society is contingent upon reduction of drawbacks to the individual while still benefiting from the pooled contributions of many.

Individuals must always make compromises and sacrifices from the moment they become involved with one another.  For collaboration to be worthwhile, the benefits gained ought to outweigh the sacrifices as much as possible.  Introverts understand very well that there is inevitably friction and restriction of freedom involved in any human interaction.  Thus the logical goal is to minimize the friction of association.  An introvert society is not about subjugating or indoctrinating its members so much as it is about individuals combining to give all other individuals the strength to stand apart.

The extrovert philosophy is precisely the opposite:

-That individuals are insignificant in comparison to standards of behavior that arise spontaneously from life in aggregate.

-That the individual is subordinate to society and is intrinsically bound by its rules.

When such a world view prevails as it does now, the nature of society goes unquestioned.  The fundamental purpose, that society is a tool to be used for the furtherance of humanity, becomes all but forgotten.  When society itself is enthroned as ruler of humanity, everyone lives under the direction of a mindless autocrat.

Zygmunt blogs at Kingdom of Introversion.

The Purpose of and Introvert Civilization appears here by permission.

related:  The Dark State

related:  What Are People For?

[image:  elycefeliz, Flickr/Creative Commons]

Zygmunt on 01/3/11 in featured, Society | 1 Comment | Read More