Are we seeing the “End of Individualism”?
As previously stated, great many people think we are seeing the end of liberalism. Writers like Michael Foley, Diane Coyle, Oliver Thomas, and
Anne Davis, among others, are not only predicting the “end of individualism,” but justify its end by arguing it is a historical and moral necessity. So, the question becomes: is this just rhetoric tied to a swing of the pendulum, or are the arguments predicting or proposing the end of individualism truly convincing?
The Argument
The argument for the end of individualism stems from personal observations, economic considerations, scientific research, political agendas, and moral claims.
Personal observations often drive challenges to individualism. A person sees or experiences wrongs committed against another or against the community or environment of which they are a part, and that experience serves to challenge their own posture, position, or belief. Though at times this personal challenge becomes enough for changing an individual’s belief or lifestyle, at other times the individual will seek out information that explains his or her experience. Tom Oliver, a professor in ecology at the University of Reading, published an article in The Guardian in 2020 that serves as a good example of this approach. In that article, Oliver claimed “the costs of a culture focused on an illusory idea of personal autonomy are making us ill and heating our planet.” His observation stemmed from his thinking about extreme weather events of 2019 and his feeling of guilt for quite possibly having contributed to global warming. In fact, he
argued it was the excessive individualism under which he was trained during the Thatcher government that directly contributed to deepening the climate and biodiversity crises as well as rising rates of anxiety and depression around the world. Providing hot links to scientific studies analyzing climate change and suggesting individuals may be better off in group settings, Oliver concluded that individualism should end and that the best way to escape individualism would be to build off ever-increasing globalism and develop group identity.4
By contrast, economic considerations also serve as a foundation for challenging the theory and practice of individualism. The work of Ann Davis, an Associate Professor of Economics at Marist College, serves as a good example of this approach. Writing in The End of Individualism and the Economy: Emerging Paradigms of Connection and Community, published in 2020, Davis argues that:
Individualism has been one of the driving forces in the rise of modern capitalism, and methodological individualism has been dominant in social science for many years. In this paradigm the economy is seen as a machine to routinize production and improve efficiency, and the discipline of economics has
The question becomes: is the argument for the end of ideology just rhetoric tied to a swing of the pendulum, or are the arguments predicting or proposing the end of individualism truly convincing?
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