The interests of the individual may be very different from the interests of the community that he inhabits. Less obviously, the publicized interests of the community may not reveal the true interests that lead to such publicization.
For instance, humans are very diverse, but societies demand a more uniform outlook on the part of the individual, so it is necessary to transform that diversity into something more uniform. In some places obedience is cultivated, order is the highest value, while in other places gentleness, fairness and freedom are praised. But in all cases the individual must accept the higher value of social order. As Richard Morgan bluntly put it:
"Society is, always has been and always will be a structure for the exploitation and oppression of the majority through systems of political force dictated by an élite, enforced by thugs, uniformed or not, and upheld by a willful ignorance and stupidity on the part of the very majority whom the system oppresses."
However if one such human being tries to find "the truth" he may, at some point, discover himself among the company of lunatics, running from nowhere to nowhere, guided only by shreds of impossible illusions, protected by their stupidity from the larger world around.
Such a person might even discover that the world is full of magic and pleasure, and it is, most of the time, easy and free... but because we can't really see the beauty and face our own limits, frailty and ephemeral nature, we are unable to appreciate or enjoy it fully. And so we condemn the very same things that could save us: sex, promiscuity, infidelity, uncertainty, mystery, the inspiring creative power of the animal, the beauty of living the unknown, the inability to be guided because there are no guides, recognizing that the lies are nothing but jokes, the lies which provide the fundament for religion, politics and even family... We condemn the cure (truth and ecstasy) and praise the poison (lies and submission to them)... why?
Because, in human society, filled with such diversity in personalities, the first requirement for survival is uniformity. Survival is more important than truth or pleasure. It is more important than having a good life.
So, the person who really searches for truth would perhaps sometimes rise to see all around her in such a different way. As if misery was necessary for survival. If only there were more like her. If only they could live in peace and ecstasy...
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