ALL FOR ONE?

Which society is more appreciative of the genius among them: free society or totalitarian society?

The quick unthinking answer would be: free society is obviously better in all aspects of individual freedom, and in this one too. But in reality this isn’t so. In order to appreciate genius, society must have a disposition for elitism, rather than egalitarianism; and, even more importantly, it must be individually unselfish, that is, its mentality must be collectivist, taking pride in the excellence of others more than in one’s personal success. Free society however is all about “me.” American society is a good indicator of this selfish disposition: it is more inclined to support the rights and privileges of the underachievers, those who are inferior to “me,” and therefore are not “my” competitors in the cutthroat struggle for personal success. It is no secret that several American geniuses (Bobby Fischer is probably the most recognizable example) have fared extremely badly in life, as soon as it was understood that the enterprising others would not be able to profit, or, having profited, would no longer be able to keep profiting, from their achievements.

Indeed, the best thing that can sustain a genius in free capitalistic society is not national pride or elitist appreciation of greatness, but the ability of a capable middleman to take advantage of this genius, to profit from his glory. Free society, I repeat, is a selfish society, and its sense of national pride and self-identification as one of all, is in very short supply. (Mr. Mitt Romney’s most recent foreign trip is a good illustration in support of my argument.)

It is only the “unfree” totalitarian society that can unselfishly appreciate genius, as its formula “one for all” disparages the free society’s formula “every man for himself and every woman for himself.” And it is only the “unfree” totalitarian society, where success or failure are measured exclusively by the individual’s value to society as a whole and where even the most sociophobic genius can feel secure behind the second part of this totalitarian formula: all for one... provided, of course, that he has been able to prove that value.