There is absolutely nothing wrong with collectivism, so long as it is voluntary. The strength of a society is in the strength of its voluntary associations.
The problem with collectivists isn’t in their desire to be a part of something larger, or in their tendencies to evangelize the collective.
It’s in their blindness to the destructive power of coercion, and their acceptance of the idea that they can progress their ideals by using the coercive power of the state.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a group of people pooling their resources and living collectively, whether they call it a family, a commune, a collective, or an ashram.
But if they refuse to let people leave, it’s not a commune, it’s a cult. And if they try to force people to join, it’s the greatest force for evil in the modern world.
Well said. “Involuntary collectivism” is also known as “theft” or “tyranny.”
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn talks about how people were sent to the gulag for undermining socialism/communism.
People were sent to their deaths for harvesting the communal fields, then going back to pick up the uncut edges to feed their own livestock.
Teenagers were sent to the camps for years for picking up trails of grain that fell off a truck.
And you could be sent for ten years on the accusations of not working hard enough for the state or grumbling about the difficulties.
It was their attempt to force people to work harder and save all resources for the collective, after productivity dropped once the personal incentive was lost.