Nada além de especulação lógica (o que mais) dessa fonte
Collectivism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that emphasizes the significance of groups—their identities, goals, rights, outcomes, etc.—and tends to analyze issues in those terms.
Parece que ambos os autores deram um mínimo de credibilidade a essa ideia.
"The Foundation series and the Robots stories, along with Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End, will probably be remembered as the last great and most eloquent arguments put forth for the idea of collectivism in the literature of science fiction."
Na verdade, mais tarde, o Sr. Asimov parece ter emprestado do Sr. Clarke
Many years after Asimov created the Foundation Trilogy, he extended his Foundation stories to include the idea that telepathic robots were guiding humanity towards the formation of a vast group mind, Galaxia.
Uma parte interessante sobre o Sr. Clarke em Publishers Weekly
Não são os únicos, a Duna de Frank Herbert também é um estudo sobre o coletivismo, em que, ao longo de enormes trechos de tempo, a história traça os prós e contras de tratar toda a humanidade como uma "coleção".Publishers Weekly wrote "the narrative leaps about too much to develop characters, but Clarke has never been as interested in individuals as in humanity's ability to accept change as a species.