The Great Deterioration of Local Community And The Loss of The Play-Based Childhood

A brilliant 2015 essay by the economist Steven Horwitz argued that free play prepares children for the “art of association” that Alexis de Tocqueville said was the key to the vibrancy of American democracy; he also argued that its loss posed “a serious threat to liberal societies.” A generation prevented from learning these social skills, Horwitz w... See more

Some of the most valuable evidence comes in the form of detailed time-use records from the US and UK, which show a marked increase in time spent alone among teens and young adults over the past decade, but little to no change for older groups. Most impor-tantly, this diary data also captures how people are feeling over the course of their day as th... See more

Zooming out: great communities, in the traditional sense, required limited options so people would remain dependent: no specialists or external trade (to ensure we all collectively worked together), and no diversity or weird ideas (to ensure a homogenous group with a focus on tradition). We had far worse medical treatment, underwent excruciating ma... See more

The world until recently was overflowing with onramps of opportunity, even for children, and we seem to do poorly at producing new ones. Modern complexity may have erased some avenues for agency (no boy can meaningfully learn the telegraph), but I suspect how we have oriented the world, not technology, is the main problem.

We’re wired for small, close-knit communities, but instead we’re lost in the chaos of a massive, impersonal society. It’s no wonder we’re struggling—this isn’t the environment we were built for. The cracks are everywhere. Just scroll through social media or read the comments on a political post, and you’ll see it: a storm of anger, hostility, and d... See more