“The antipode of individualism is collectivism, which subordinates the individual to the group -- be it the 'community,' the tribe, the race, the proletariat, etc. A person's moral worth is judged by how much he sacrifices himself to the group. [Under collectivism] the more emergencies (and victims) the better, because they provide more opportunity for 'virtue'.”

Individualism is an antipodean to collectivism. Morality based on law is an antipodean to collectivism. Virtue based on law is an antipodean to collectivism.

Complex and over-stated, this writer's derivation cannot shine without a suitable context; the seeds were blown far from the tree in this case and should they find fertile soil, should they grow, what will there perceived issue be? Still, the quote is quite a genuine observation well captured. Thank you, it was worth the read.

I'm ashamed of the fact that this guy is a Canadian. In the article he sideswipes the truth with nothing more than US and A propaganda. This guy is a conservative hack. Trickle-down was a lie that perpetuated the biggest con-job in the history of Western Civilization. We came through that ice storm because of our Collectivism, not in spite of it. Collectivism and a sense of community is what built Canada and will continue to strengthen us to weather all storms; natural or economic.

This perfectly illustrates why The Left is so "emotional" and so unashamed of it.

They judge their "victims" in some unflattering way, feel "guilty" about their judgmental thoughts, and feel moved to "help" the "victim" (as compensation for their ugly judgmental thoughts).

They are very like children in the way they "see" the world.

A mature adult human sees someone in need and asks what they can do to assist. The one thing they do NOT do is tell the person in need that they (the one offering assistance) knows what is best for that person.

The mature adult human LISTENS and does not judge; acting instead out of a genuine appreciation of what it is to be in need, and not out of guilt.

And thus, the help they offer is genuine -- because there is no dictating what the person in need must accept; nor does their help come with strings attached, like The Left does with their implication "You must vote the way I think you should from now on, of course, since you have accepted my "help".

Without individualism there would be no collectivism... 

Gone have the days of the "Left" and the "Right" we now only have one party and it's called the MIC. We have children starving, we have thousands on the streets seeking shelter, we have Vietnam Vets refused benefits and yet we spend $22.2 billion on  a Submarine which will become obselete in a year or two.