Something a bit essay-ish now that I hope you'll find interesting. Really, I'm writing this post as a clarification on my own political and philosophical viewpoint and as a dispelling of some long propagated myths surrounding socialist/leftist thought.
Socialist Individualism:
The core idea I want to get at here is that of Socialism being a way of using a collectivist approach to society as a method of self-realisation and individual empowerment. To many (especially to those prescribing to the views of the right, from liberal conservatives to fervent fascists) socialism is the antithesis of the concept of individual freedom. They fear that the individual human spirit will be lost to the emphasis placed on everyone working collectively and in step with each other to advance. However, I would argue that these people do not understand what Socialism actually is (or at least what I would percieve socialist ideals to be, perhaps tempered by the Western political tradition of Liberalism). To me Socialism is about everybody having a stake in the world in which they live and so everybody works together in order to improve the society around them. Doing this, we can provide for the vulnerable and the workers and poor through the state, providing housing, income and, most importantly, opportunities. When socialism provides a man with a job and house where he would otherwise have had nothing under a capitlaist system, that man gains opportunity. He now has the means to educate and better himself, to travel and take in a varied world view. The man now has freedom to do more with an income, whereas under capitalism he may have had nothing and been able to do nothing.
The Role of the state:
Working as a collective, we contribute to the state which, in turn, contributes to us. If we take the above point that control of resources such as an income, home etc. grants opportunities for individual empowerment and growth, the state then becomes the arbiter of this individual growth as the state controls the distribution of resources. Resources come to the state in the form of taxes etc. and the state redistributes those resources through services, benefits, housing and so on, the classic socialist model. Obviously being the controller of our personal growth is a position carrying the potential for too much abuse of power which is where the beauty of democracy comes in; if the state goes to far, the people vote for change.
Conclusion:
This, I would argue, is the clear way in which my own view of Socialism, in it's final stage, is actually about the granting of individual growth and opportunity, not about empowering a collective at the cost of singular human freedom. Together we can work to distribute wealth away from the wealthy capitalist Bourgeoisie who, through controlling a majority of resources and wealth, have a monopoly on opportunities for self-empowerment and instead distribute it towards those who currently lack the resources and wealth to grow as individuals.
