1 Comment

I found myself nodding along with all of this, and love the zoomed-out look at generational change in response to context (e.g., early 20th century large scale problems, and so on).

But, I can't help but think that the focus on "the value of individualism" is verbally correct but practically too narrow to explain the cultural/political trends and populations that (I believe) we're referring to. I'd argue that those advocating for "individualism" the most, from a political lens, are actually some of the least diverse population(s) in the US's political spectrum. If they all generally vote/act/speak the same things, are they truly living the "individualism" they supposedly value? Or--as I'd argue--is the value more about contrarianism and/or simply selfishness in the way they manage resources (more goods/rights/etc. for me) and information (don't give me information that challenges the idea that I'm correct). Some of the latter speaks to broader human trends, but interested if you have thoughts about the "professed value of individualism" versus "actually acting and thinking in a very individual way," from this practical/political zoom.

Longer comment than I'd intended. Thanks for another thought-provoking piece!

Expand full comment