A doctrine that aims to eliminate individual property , replacing it with collective or communal property is called collectivism . Collectivism maintains that the State should be in charge of distributing wealth.
According to collectivism, the means of production and economic goods should not belong to private people, but rather must be under the control of the entire society through the State . That is why it is stated that collectivism is opposed to individualism .
As a principle of the activity carried out by all human beings, collectivism seeks to express productive relationships based on equal rights and avoiding exploitation . Promotes harmony between the subject and society , establishing reciprocal obligations and rights.
Collectivism is positioned as a system to organize the economy and politics of a community, giving preponderance to the group over the individual. Its premise is that the collective good is superior to the individual good.
The collectivization of the means of production, in this framework, means that the government (State authorities) manages resources in pursuit of the collective good. However, this is usually a cause for debate since rulers can favor the interests of one sector.
In practice, collectivism faces great difficulties. For example, by its essence it opposes human rights , which are inherent to each individual. On the other hand, the functioning of collectivism requires leaders who represent the entire community, something impossible to achieve because it nullifies any divergence.
There are a large number of societies that can be indicated as examples of collectivism, whether they themselves recognize it in this way or are pointed out in this way by others. In short, we can make the following distinction:
* Socialist States that have transformed a large part of the sectors of their economy to collectivism. These States are those that, through their Constitution , declare themselves in pursuit of socialism or are moving towards communism as the basis of their society;
* Israeli kibbutzim, small communes where people decide to live to share the right to property with others and each contribute what they know how to do best, always thinking about the common good. In this group we must also mention some communities such as the Danish Freetown Christiana , which enjoys autonomy and promotes a collectivist type organization ; It is located in Copenhagen, in a former military installation.
There is a similar concept in the field of philosophy that can sometimes be confused with collectivism : communitarianism . It emerged in the latter part of the 20th century to oppose certain features of individualism and in favor of civil society , among other phenomena . It should be noted that some of his ideas had already been recorded long before. While not rigidly opposed to liberalism, it focuses on community as an intermediate sovereignty.
It is common for collectivism to be associated with socialism , mentioned above, but not in all its visions. Socialism also belongs to the realm of philosophy and encompasses fields such as economics and politics . Both currents favor the group over the individual, and show a special interest in the concept of collective property , as opposed to private property.
Although in some sources we can find an almost exclusive focus on capital and land when we talk about property, whether collective or private, collectivism also points out that any consumer good should be considered public. Some of the most common examples within this last category are those of national defense, information, justice and natural resources.