Not Meant For Individualism

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The solution to combating increasing reliance on government welfare and handouts is not modern conservatism or individualism. Berating people to be more independent is not going to work, in fact it was the quick spread of individualism which has made this modern socialism possible. How?

Well people are not designed by God to conquer this world as individuals. If you go back not all that long ago, our society knew this, and westerners sought to advance in the world in extended family units. Most sons did not leave the family behind completely, but were trained up in the profession of their dad, living within the family structure, sharing in and adding to the family wealth, where they would eventually bring in their wife and kids. It was not rugged individualism that ruled the day, it was family networks working together. This kind of western society conquered the world, spreading to every continent, because of the industry and wealth it created.

This extended family unit began to collapse with the industrial revolution, but this collapse accelerated in the 20th century because it was pushed by modern media, and extreme individualism took hold. Families have increasingly disintegrated as a result and the resources being shared from generation to generation have gone down, and the need to utilize debt and double income families has increased (three to four income families are coming).

So many people struggle to make it in such a society, because they were not designed to do so, and they turn to the last modern reflection of patriarchal hierarchy to save them: government. The vast dependence on government is a result of rampant individualism. It is a natural result of forcing people to function in a way they were not designed to, which has lead to the creation of large cracks in our society, that government steps in to correct.

Men were not designed to be alone. It is the only thing called not good in the perfect pre-fall world. Families were not designed to function as standalone units. Stay at home mums were never meant to be keeping the home alone, while the grandparents went on multiple vacations every year, living their own lives, or worked their own careers, rather than helping the younger women manage their homes (cf. Titus 2). People were designed to live in tribal/kin style units, where the extended family helped each other build wealth and resources together. The most important resource being the extended family unit.

You say, this is not possible in today's world. Isn't it? 

How do you think the Jewish people have stayed distinct and reasonably well off across centuries of moving in and out of other nations? They look after each other and prioritize each other. Chinese communities do it too. I have noticed certain Muslim peoples do it as well. In fact, a lot of societies prioritize kin favour-ship. The Amish are proof that Europeans can do it, even to this day.

Individualism and socialism are not just opposites, they are opposite extremes. We were created to live not just as individuals, nor as people with no distinct identity in the larger national group, but as members of strong families and extended family networks. This is how we defeat government welfare dependence. Preaching rugged individualism sounds good because it has worked, for some of us. We have managed through it. But the broader society is really struggling, and rugged individualism is not the solution; strong extended family units that prioritize each other are.