The Dark Heart of Individualism

Rugged individualism is still deeply enmeshed in American culture. And its myth is one of our biggest exports to the rest of the world. Rugged individualism is the philosophical foundation that convinces you that if you fail, it’s because you’re not good enough. Rugged individualism erases the impact of structural and systemic inequality.

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American society is driven by hyperindividualism: we are all free and independent individuals who can choose to do pretty much what we want.This clearly isn’t true, since people obviously aren’t free: they’re controlled by socioeconomic circumstances. I think most people feel like it’s impossible for them succeed in today’s world (“I will never be ... See more

Hyper-individualism rests upon an emancipation story. The heroic self breaks free from the stifling chains of society. The self stands on its own two feet, determines its own destiny, secures its own individual rights. Hyper-individualism defines freedom as absence from restraint. In this way, hyper-individualism gradually undermines any connection... See more