What an odd mix is Eric Clapton. A reserved, almost donnish Englishman, and still one of the world's great guitar heroes. Born and raised far from Mississippi or Chicago, yet he wields unquestionably one of the finest blues guitars the world has heard.

And he understands the psychology of creativity too, about which more below.

Here's a lesson from history on the subject of trade and conquest, and which one of the two methods of inter-human interaction works best. Think about it:

No man is an island, says the poet... As for me, I see myself as a sort of a peninsula -- with a good bar located near my connection with the mainland.

The thing with the 'no man is an island' argument is that those who normally use that line have a wrong idea about individualism. They have an idea that 'individualism' is some kind of 'atomistic individualism' -- another line frequently used. But a genuine individualism has no need to be 'atomistic'; one of the pleasures of life is interacting with others, enjoying the pleasure of their company (and their drinks cabinet), gaining knowledge from those who have it, and trading with others to help achieve our values. Life without other people would be a pretty miserable existence.