As a Liberal, from a family that does not shy away from that proud moniker, it is one of the great frustrations of my life that our country has been griped by the pernicious meme of self-reliance.
On the surface the idea seems innocent enough, every one should look out for themselves, take responsibility for their actions and have their success dictated by those actions. In reality, this is a complete fallacy based on a frontier ideal that never existed.
At its base this is an unworkable idea. Humans are never successful on their own. From the very start of our species our strength has been in our numbers. Any one human is a pretty good meal for a large predator, but get a group of us together and it is the predator that is in trouble. This continues through all of the ventures that have made us the dominate species on this planet.
Our ability to communicate and leverage others experience is the single reason that we no longer live on the plains of our birth. We tell stories that have both positive and negative role models. These stories allow us to understand the consequences of others actions and to take lessons away that will make us more successful.
The idea of a "self-made man" is a complete fiction. No one can be successful without taking advantage of the work of those that came before us. This was true even in the era that inspired the self reliant myth, the expansion into the western United States. While there were certainly trappers and miners that went out by themselves, they were completely dependant on those that lived in the small towns. No miner could ply his trade without blacksmiths, farmers, horse breeders or buyers for his ore. No cow-boy (that icon of self-reliance) worked for himself, or by himself. Most cow-boys worked for ranchers, and were part of a crew.
The conservative movement uses this meme to try to divide all Americans from each other. Why do they do this? Because the strength of the progressive movement is the idea that we are stronger together That while we can not and should not do everything for the people of this country, there are things that no individual will be successful at alone. Has anyone ever tried to get a company to change their policies on their own? If you have your know what a completely frustrating and pointless experience it is.
Over and over the consturitives play this card that keeps people from truly leveraging the power of the group.
No affirmative action, because regardless of the fact that groups of Americans are discriminated against, as groups, it is the individuals responsibility to overcome the this hurdle.
No Unions, because the individual should be able to bargain with the corporation, regardless of the fact that workers are treated like a group in terms of policy.