Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Wanjiru Njoya
“Methodological individualism is best known for its applications in economics, and its importance for historical analysis is often overlooked. The main significance for historical inquiry lies in rejecting the dominant discourse which explains historical events purely by reference to collective group identity such as race or class. According to activist historians, the heritage of a people is ascertained not from how it was understood by individuals, or by the families, neighborhoods, counties, or states with whom such individuals joined cause of their own volition, but is to be decided on everyone’s behalf by Marxist-adjacent ‘experts’ who designate collective group heritage based on people’s race, class, or national identity.” [editor’s note: “National identity” is no different than “family, neighborhood, county, or state”-based “understanding;” those collective units are not individuals; “paleoconservative” identity politics is just a verion of the “Marxist” take – TLK] (07/01/25)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/methodological-individualism-historical-analysis