Well, I'd say it's not so much individualism as equivalence of humans and nonhumans. I think there's a lot we have in common, but we're not equivalent, so it's OK to look at nonhumans from a less individualist standpoint than I look at humans.
But that's probably part of why I can accept it happening abstractly if I'm not personally involved, because I know that cowkind will continue to prosper, but if I get personally involved with an individual cow it shifts my focus there.
If our species had reached the point where we couldn't survive by ourselves, and our options were 1. extinction or 2. survival as a domesticated, periodically harvested species... well, I'm sure there are some SF stories about that.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-05 06:01 pm (UTC)But that's probably part of why I can accept it happening abstractly if I'm not personally involved, because I know that cowkind will continue to prosper, but if I get personally involved with an individual cow it shifts my focus there.
If our species had reached the point where we couldn't survive by ourselves, and our options were 1. extinction or 2. survival as a domesticated, periodically harvested species... well, I'm sure there are some SF stories about that.