One of the things you seem to believe in a very deep-down fundamental way is that: communal endeavour = good, virtuous, makes important changes individual endeavour = bad, selfish, maintains the status-quo (which is itself bad)
I don't know how much that is your personal thing and how much a general left wing thing but it has been a fascinating discovery for me to realise that mode of thinking exists.
I'd say that by contrast I never assign much of a moral value to the method, only judging the moral value by the end result. Which isn't quite the same as saying the end justifies the means, since if the means has bad effects along the way, those count as part of the end. But I would certainly always prefer to justify the means by the end than have to justify the end by the means. And I believe both individual and communal can be either good or bad depending on the circumstances.
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communal endeavour = good, virtuous, makes important changes
individual endeavour = bad, selfish, maintains the status-quo (which is itself bad)
I don't know how much that is your personal thing and how much a general left wing thing but it has been a fascinating discovery for me to realise that mode of thinking exists.
I'd say that by contrast I never assign much of a moral value to the method, only judging the moral value by the end result. Which isn't quite the same as saying the end justifies the means, since if the means has bad effects along the way, those count as part of the end. But I would certainly always prefer to justify the means by the end than have to justify the end by the means. And I believe both individual and communal can be either good or bad depending on the circumstances.