depending on inter-dependable individualists

"Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being."

Mahatma Gandhi

This week I accidentally stumbled upon Atlas Shrugged and was intrigued by Ayn Rand's vision of a future dystopian America where the majority despise the exceptionally successful individuals in their society and espouse a redistribution of wealth and talent in pursuit of "fairness" for everyone. I'd never heard of Atlas Shrugged or Ayn Rand until this week, so I was interested to discover what impact her writings and philosophy has had on my adoptive nation. Curiosity took wing in search of knowledge as I watched two documentaries, one from each pole of American political thought, and then I watched the 2 part movie adaptation of the book. I then ordered the book from our local library. 

Rand's vision seemed to deduce that this dystopian future would be populated by those who were totally dependent on others; those who were totally co-dependent on those "dependent" others, and finally the elite few who were independent of either the dependent or co-dependent. What was sadly missing was a fourth group in this dystopian society who were interdependent individuals who had realized their full potential and chose to be interdependent with the others around them in society. These paragons of virtue would have chosen to belong to others not from a place of helplessness or pathology but from a sense of awareness that they would best express themselves by willingly becoming interdependent with those others in their society.

In my life I have known seasons of all four forms of human existence. 

For many years I lived a life of helpless dependence on others. Then as I entered Christianity and began to form a stronger level of self-control and self-expression I found myself in the insidious situation of gaining my sense of self-worth from helping helpless people. From there I became driven to be independent. I pursued independence for several years, gaining my sense of self-worth solely from what I achieved in my own life. 

I can testify that helpless Dependence is horrifically destructive to a healthy sense of Self. I also discovered that Co-dependence was as Self-crippling as Dependence but in a more socially insidious way. Independence seemed to offer me a freedom from both of these crippling states, but it too ended in distorting my best efforts and nullifying even the most noble of my endeavors. For Independence repeatedly created an island that felt devoid of some intangible sense that I could ever reach the full potential of my authentic self in this utopia-driven isolation.  

So now I firmly refuse to revert to my initial state of helpless dependence on those around me. I also refuse even more emphatically to return to finding self worth only in helping the helpless. For that route meant I needed to constantly curse others by forcing them to remain dependent on me so that I might "help" them and so accrue a sense of worth from my altruistic acts. Independence, which seems to be Ayn Rand's utopian solution, continues to tempt me, it constantly calls out to me like the Sirens of antiquity calling a lonely explorer to their doom. But I'm convinced it is no more healthy or wealthy than dependency or co-dependency. 

So what could an Interdependent society look like? 

I think it could be created by having incredibly gifted individuals tirelessly working individually and in complementary groups in the herculean effort to create a wealthy and healthy society that is for the good of all. This demi-gods of humanity would accept that there would always be those in society who will be dependent on others and be susceptible to being exploited by the Co-dependent in society of whom humanity would have in plentiful supply. And finally, despite their best attempts some of the gifted among the demi-gods would reject their fellow human beings and choose to use their hard earned resources to create extravagant islands of isolation for themselves and their chosen friends, while  ignoring the possibility that those resources might have been used more productively to help create an interdependent community that included all of humanity.  

I have chosen to live as an Interdependent human being, accepting that there will always be dependent, co-dependent and independent individuals who will consume the fruit of my hard earned labor in ways I will feel are fruitless and feckless. I'm still unsure if I could ever be exceptional enough to be among those Rand's John Galt would have called forth.... But whatever my level of "exceptionalism" I have decided to choose to live interdependently for the good of all, which, ironically, is inevitably the most selfish thing I could ever do....

The declaration of interdependence....

"We the interdependent people of God's majestic creation will wisely allow everyone else to abide among us, even if they are not as productively perfect as we think we are. 

Do you think my society a Utopia or Dystopia?