Consider the following events making news recently:

In Bolivia, protestors have virtually shut down the country and brought it to the brink of civil war. The complaints carried a theme of dissatisfaction with the current government and demands for solutions to the country’s poverty. One of the most popular solutions is the nationalization (seizure) of the oil and gas industry, which helps bring in foreign investors and is also a convenient scapegoat for the country’s ills.

In France, voters recently rejected the proposed Constitution of the European Union. One of the main arguments in favor of its rejection was that it would usher in “ultra liberal” free market policies that would destroy the French “way of life” by challenging their pervasive social welfare policies.

In Canada, the courts have issued a ruling striking down a law banning private medical insurance, which represents a challenge to their publicly funded health care system. The ruling comes as a result of increased criticism of the system, which is plagued with waiting lists so long that in some cases patients have died before receiving proper care.

In Washington, the chances for Social Security reform continue to slip as it becomes likely that legislation will probably not make it to a vote this year. Although both sides recognize the need to modify the system, neither questions the need for its existence.

In Scotland, protest groups are gearing up to disrupt the upcoming G8 conference, where the world’s wealthiest countries will meet to discuss policy issues ranging from climate change to terrorism. Meanwhile, local bank managers are recommending that their employees dress casually to avoid looking like “lackeys of capitalism” and hence targets of abuse.

All of these seemingly diverse cases are manifestations of the same basic conflict: Individualism versus collectivism.

This conflict can be posed in many different questions. Should individuals be free to pursue their interests or should the state intervene on behalf of the “public good?” Is the individual obligated to contribute to the well-being of his fellow man, through taxes, social welfare programs and the enforced patronage of state-owned industry? Do individuals have rights by nature or by permission of society?

The answers to these questions have been debated for a long time. Collectivism reigned supreme for most of history, only to be challenged relatively recently by the Enlightenment, which reaffirmed the view of the individual as a sovereign being with unalienable rights.

The new era of individualism gave rise to vastly increased political freedom and the subsequent wealth enjoyed by places which firmly embraced the ideas of the individual rights to life, liberty and property.

Yet this wasn’t the end of the story, which is still being played out today in the places mentioned above, and throughout the rest of the world. Even given the spectacular success that individualism has brought and the destruction collectivism has wrought in the last century alone, the battle is not over.

Somehow, the formula for success and ingredients for failure continue to be ignored, even in the face of overwhelming evidence, perhaps because this evidence is taken for granted. Ignoring the vital role of private property in economic growth, the Bolivian peasants call for the seizure of productive industries and the designation of petroleum as “state-owned.” Ignoring the indisputable success of free market economics in raising the standard of living for all, the French rally for protectionism and the welfare state.

Dismissing the quality of private healthcare and investment, officials in Toronto and Washington pledge their dedication to “strengthening” the state systems, as if more money is all that is needed to fit a square peg in a round hole. It is not that the solutions to these problems have not been discovered, but that they have not been applied.

Thinkers like Thomas Jefferson, John Locke and Ayn Rand have shown us the way to freedom, prosperity and happiness. It is about time we listen.

— Noah Stahl is a graduate student in electrical and computer engineering from Fort Lupton, Co.