Realism, Nominalism, Economics

One of the oldest Philosophical debates is Realism vs. Nominalism, i. e. the priority of the Universal vs. the priority of the Individual. In extreme versions of each, the conflict is conceived as an antithesis, thereby relegating the inferior term to non-existence, e. g. in Buddhism and Atomism, respectively. Furthermore, in recent centuries, a Political instance of that mutual exclusivity, Collective vs. Individualism, has been the locus of the Marxism vs. Capitalism contrast, even though Marx and Smith each accommodates both Collective and Individual interests. However, even if the underlying logical antithesis is adequately conceived, which is questionable, the reduction of the relation of those systems to it is not. For, the larger context of Economic activity is Biological, i. e. survival, the primary polarity of which is species and member, each of which plainly exists concretely. Hence, while it might be arguable that one or the other pole has priority, the concept of their relation as antithetical, e. g. by Randists, is, at minimum, a simple-minded misapplication of Logic.