If you insist that individual rights are the summum bonum, then

"If you insist that individual rights are the summum bonum, then the whole structure of society falls down." These words from the great B. F. Skinner strike with the weight of a deep truth—one that challenges our modern ideals and forces us to confront the delicate balance between the individual and the collective. At first glance, the notion of individual rights as the highest good may seem noble, even heroic. After all, who does not long for freedom, for self-expression, for the liberty to shape one’s own life? Yet Skinner, with the clarity of a sage, warns us that if individual rights are placed above all else, if they become the summum bonum, the supreme good, then the very foundation of society will crumble beneath us.

In the ancient world, the Greeks held a deep belief in the power of the individual—in the pursuit of virtue, wisdom, and self-realization. But even they understood that the individual does not exist in a vacuum. The life of the philosopher or the warrior was not solely about personal triumph, but about duty to the city-state, to the community, and to the gods. Socrates himself, that most celebrated of thinkers, believed that the pursuit of wisdom was vital—but he also emphasized that wisdom must be used for the good of society. The individual was never meant to live for their own sake, but as a part of the greater whole.

The rise of the Roman Empire brought with it a similar understanding of the individual’s place within society. The Roman concept of civic duty was centered on the idea that an individual’s rights and freedoms were not absolute, but were balanced by the needs of the state. The philosopher Cicero spoke of the “common good,” suggesting that the good of the individual could only be truly realized within the framework of a stable and just society. To elevate one’s own desires above the well-being of the society was, in their view, to unravel the very bonds that held the empire together. Even in the height of Roman greatness, the individual could not transcend the collective responsibility that defined their identity.

Fast forward to our modern world, where individual rights are often held in the highest regard. The American Revolution and the French Revolution each championed the rights of the individual to freedom, self-determination, and liberty. And while these ideals have led to advances in human dignity, justice, and equality, they have also led to societal fractures, to the rise of self-interest, and the erosion of communal responsibility. Skinner’s warning is that when the individual becomes the center of all, when the focus shifts solely to personal gain, then society itself becomes weak, divided, and unable to function as a cohesive whole.

Take, for example, the modern-day tension between the individual’s right to privacy and the collective need for security. In many nations, the demand for personal freedom has led to conflicts with measures meant to protect the greater good. The balance between privacy and safety, between personal liberty and public order, has become a battleground where the individual often claims precedence. Skinner would argue that this insistence on the primacy of the individual over the collective needs of society leads to paralysis. When each person pursues only their own desires, society itself begins to disintegrate, unable to hold its people together in any meaningful way.

To understand this, we need only look at the fall of civilizations throughout history. The Roman Empire, though a beacon of individual achievement, collapsed under the weight of social division and self-interest. The Greeks, though they celebrated the power of the individual in philosophy and art, fell to the advancing forces of time, unable to hold their society together when internal conflict and the decline of communal values weakened their unity. Skinner’s words are not a call to reject the individual but a warning to remember that the individual does not exist in isolation. The individual is a part of something far greater, and it is only through collaboration, through shared purpose, that we can build a society that thrives.

Thus, the lesson we must take from Skinner’s insight is this: while the rights of the individual are vital, they must be balanced with a deep commitment to the collective well-being. Individualism without responsibility to society leads not to greater freedom, but to chaos. True freedom comes not in the isolation of the self, but in the realization that the strength of a people lies in their unity—in their ability to come together, to share in a common purpose, and to build a society that elevates the whole.

Let us, then, cultivate not only our own freedoms, but a sense of duty to one another. Let us remember that our rights are not absolute, but must be tempered by our responsibility to the greater good. We are not islands; we are threads in the vast tapestry of life. It is only by weaving ourselves together that we can create a society strong enough to weather the storms of time. In this, we will find a balance that honors both the individual and the collective, a balance that allows us to thrive as a people, united in our shared purpose and common destiny.