# Critique of Individualism and Particularism in The New State

> Theme guide for The New State by Mary Parker Follett.

The author rejects laissez-faire individualism and 'everyman-for-his-own-interests' as false individualism, asserting that true self-fulfillment comes through integration with the whole, not through separation or altruistic service to others.

## Where it surfaces

- [Part I: The Group Principle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/part-i-the-group-principle): The chapter critiques the focus on the individual as the primary unit of society, arguing that this leads to fragmentation and fails to achieve true democracy.
- [I: The Group and the New Psychology](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/i-the-group-and-the-new-psychology): The chapter explicitly rejects the concept of the isolated individual and abstract society, arguing that both are fictions; instead, it focuses on the group as the fundamental unit.
- [II: The Group Process: The Collective Idea](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/ii-the-group-process-the-collective-idea): Criticizes the craving for personal recognition and the notion of individual triumph, advocating for group satisfaction and the transformation of 'I' into 'we'.
- [III: The Group Process: The Collective Idea (Continued)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/iii-the-group-process-the-collective-idea-continued): The chapter critiques the overemphasis on imitation and particularism, asserting that true social progress comes from the creative synthesis of differences, not individual isolation.
- [IV: The Group Process: The Collective Feeling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/iv-the-group-process-the-collective-feeling): The chapter rejects particularistic psychology that posits isolated individuals, arguing that sympathy and feeling originate in the group, not in preexisting ego or alter.
- [VI: The Unity of the Social Process](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/vi-the-unity-of-the-social-process): Rejects private conscience and individual ethics, arguing that right and duty arise from the group process, not isolated selves.
- [VII: The Individual](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/vii-the-individual): The chapter directly attacks the notion of the separate, self-made individual, arguing that individuality is constituted through social relations and that the idea of a self-made man is a fallacy.
- [VIII: Who Is the Free Man?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/viii-who-is-the-free-man): The chapter rejects the idea that freedom belongs to the solitary individual, arguing instead that true freedom is found through interpermeation with others and the whole.
- [IX: The New Individualism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/ix-the-new-individualism): The chapter distinguishes true individualism from the particularism of the past, arguing that the so-called individualistic age was actually particularistic.
- [X: Society](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/x-society): The chapter rejects the old individualism and its political fallacies, such as the social contract and majority rule.
- [XI: The Self-and-Others Illusion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xi-the-self-and-others-illusion): The chapter directly critiques altruism as a form of individualism and argues that the self-and-others fallacy leads to harmful dualisms, advocating instead for a whole-imperative.
- [XIII: The Secret of Progress](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xiii-the-secret-of-progress): Rejects the idea that individuals originate ideas independently; all ideas arise from group interpenetration and collective psychic reservoirs.
- [Part II: The Traditional Democracy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/part-ii-the-traditional-democracy): The chapter critiques traditional democracy's foundation in individualistic assumptions, arguing it fails to capture the social and group nature of political life.
- [XVI: Democracy Not “Liberty” and “Equality”: Our Political Dualism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xvi-democracy-not-liberty-and-equality-our-political-dualism): The chapter rejects natural rights and the particularist individual, arguing that rights and liberty arise only through group membership.
- [XX: The Growth of Democracy in America](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xx-the-growth-of-democracy-in-america): The chapter extensively critiques the false individualism of laissez-faire economics, social contract theory, and the 'individual rights' doctrine, arguing that these led to particularism, monopolies, and the crushing of true individuals.
- [XXII: Neighborhood Needs the Basis of Politics](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xxii-neighborhood-needs-the-basis-of-politics): Criticizes the preference for selective, homogeneous groups over diverse local communities, and the vanity that leads people to seek status rather than genuine connection.
- [Neighborhood Organization vs. Party Organization I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xxiv-neighborhood-organization-vs-party-organization-i): Independent voting and particularistic theories are dismissed as ineffective against organized party machinery; only organized groups can provide true collective action.
- [XXVI: Neighborhood Organization vs. Party Organization III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xxvi-neighborhood-organization-vs-party-organization-iii): Criticizes the delegation of responsibility and the separation of individuals from their community, advocating for a shared responsibility where each person is the city and nation.
- [II: The Occupational Group](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/ii-the-occupational-group): Criticizes the focus on individual rights and particular interests, advocating for group-based social organization.
- [XXIX: Political Pluralism and Sovereignty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xxix-political-pluralism-and-sovereignty): The author critiques pluralists for isolating groups and ignoring the unifying force that leads to larger wholes, emphasizing the dynamic interplay of the one and the many.
- [Political Pluralism and Functionalism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xxx-political-pluralism-and-functionalism): The chapter rejects both atomistic individualism and the particularism of occupational representation, arguing for the 'group-individual' as the true unit.
- [Political Pluralism and the True Federal State](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xxxi-political-pluralism-and-the-true-federal-state): The chapter critiques both individual and group particularism, arguing that group rights can lead to the same atomism and anarchy as individual rights.
- [The Moral State and Creative Citizenship](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xxxiv-the-moral-state-and-creative-citizenship): Criticizes the old individualism that feared men and the notion of the individual as a mere unit, arguing instead for a new individualism based on faith in men and group relations.
- [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/endnotes): The notes argue that free speech is not an individual right but a societal need, and that loyalty is to the group idea, not to group personnel.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/themes/critique_of_individualism_and_particularism
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/themes