Comment above is spot on. We are told to be individualistic by nature, then reinforced by artificial scarcity and artificial need to compete.
The truth is we are headed towards 95% unemployment as only 5% of human labour will be needed to produce everything we need before the current century ends. Have fun trying to keep an economy alive with such a situation.
A lot of people is going to die or be disenfranchised. That's the way it has to be, I'm sorry.
Those of us that are organised will thrive however with the rise of ideological movements as the alternative base of political power.
Humans act altruistic or selfish depending on biological makeup, upbringing or environment. We possess both qualities- some more than other and altruism is well documented by science. Social darwinism as a social theory is old, outdated and discredited.
However to be effective, our proposals must speak both to altruism and enlightened self-interest.
As a political activist who rejects utopianism, it's important we think about our action here and now with a mind of where we want to go towards. Preserving individual spirit is the most important goal for breeding liberty. Liberty and equality are not always the same, sometimes opposed.
There is just no other way, people are going to die. Our trajectory cannot continue its insanity.