# Individuals, Collectives, and Structures By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2025-04-15 American society places too much focus and emphasis on the individual. Whereas a person acts as an individual, the exclusive focus on this action diminishes the role of collectives and structures. It is not difficult to notice that any group of people, whether an elementary school classroom, sports team, or business department, exhibits the same general composition. There is the leader, deputy, clown, foot soldiers, negative person, and the disengaged. If the individual alone were all that mattered, a group would eventually be comprised of leaders or clowns. This isn’t what happens. Group dynamics direct people to empty roles. Collectives shape and constrain individual action. So do structures. Hierarchies induce subordination. Flat organizations promote collaboration. Putting individuals into different structures changes what individuals do. A common saying provides insight: “One bad apple can spoil the barrel.” It can. Such a focus is directed to the role of the individual. However, it is no less true, though rarely said, that a bad barrel can spoil the apple placed into it. A good person can be negatively influenced by both the collective and the structure. Given that individuals, collectives, and structures matter, it is limiting to focus on just one. Given the dominance of the individual in our society, there is a strategic advantage to simply thinking about either collectives or structures. This person will bring something needed to the discussion. Anybody who can synthesize the three variables will likely have a more nuanced and accurate understanding of the situation. Focusing exclusively on the individual is beneficial to those in power. First, collectives are a threat to elites. The masses' only chance to fight exploitation is as a class, not individuals. Focusing on the individual precludes the development of class consciousness, which could threaten the status quo. Second, the elite are the ones who dictate structure. Focusing on the individual diverts attention from the elite’s culpability for forming the structures that limit human freedom and progress. It isn’t that individuals don’t matter. They do. Humans, as individuals, can do amazing things. These are relatively rare but inspiring. Heroic, individual actions distract from the collective and structural forms that define, but don’t fully dictate, or lived, daily reality. #### Related Items [[Society]] [[American]] [[Individuals]] [[Collection]] [[Structure]] [[Elites]] [[Class]]