The Mary Parker Follett Network

Unity, not uniformity, must be our aim. - MPF

Slate magazine has an interesting article out, asking "where is the liberal Ayn Rand"? (see link below). We know that Follett transcended the titles "liberal" and "conservative," and said as much in The New State. Yet I've often thought that her concepts make a nice counterpoint to the extreme individualism of Ayn Rand. So I wrote to Professor Beverly Gage at Yale, who wrote the Slate article, suggesting that she look into Follett. What do you think? 

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2012/08/pau...

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Hi Matthew,

 I wanted to thank you for setting up the new Follett Writings option.  That makes it easier to cut and paste Follett's words directly.  I'm happy you wrote to Prof. Beverly Gage with your suggestion she look into Follett.  This would be one more individual looking at Follett from her own point of view, which is, in a way, what Follett saw as the virtue, necessity of maximum diversity.  Below (from Chapter XX of The New State, p. 162 in my copy, 166 in online copy) are some words of Follett's showing her strong belief that individualism and social consciousness are one, and/or, interactive and indispensable ingredients of democracy.

I'll click the Slate link next.    THANKS FOR POSTING YOUR THOUGHTS AND QUERY.  AND THE LINK TO THE SLATE ARTICLE.  

ALBIE  (Follett quote below.)

THE two problems of democracy to-day are: (1) how to make the individual politically effective, and (2) how to give practical force to social policies. Both of these mean that the individual is at last recognized in political life. The history of democracy has been the history of the steady growth towards individualism. The hope of democracy rests on the individual. It is all one whether we say that democracy is the development of the social consciousness, or that democracy is the development of individualism; until we have become in some degree socially conscious we shall not realize the value of the individual. It is not insignificant that a marked increase in the appreciation of social values has gone hand in hand with a growing recognition of the individual.

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