Monday, June 19, 2017

Individualism Watch

Here's another item in my ongoing series explaining American politics through our obsessive individualism, this one from the Washington Post:
Call it the All About Me trip

“One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself” is permission to travel alone.
Mind you I'm not objecting to this idea; I'm a citizen of this world, too, and I've taken many trips alone. I just note the emphasis in our age on giving to yourself. Which is why, I think, libertarians have suddenly sprouted up all around us, and why it is so difficult for us to carry out any sort of grand common project like national health care.

2 comments:

  1. Are you familiar with Robert Bellah's "Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life" orig publ in 1895? His examination of individualism and its effects gives, I think, very good insight into this question.

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  2. Wow, "giving to yourself" is just such a perfectly Capitalist concept, isn't it?

    Greed and selfishness are firmly rooted in our society, and they are poisoning it from deep within. (Along with fear and paranoia.)

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