What Christopher Lasch Got Wrong

Solitarist identity is an example of dichotomous or binary thinking, one of the cognitive distortions that are evidently becoming more common, at least among young adults in the United States, according to George Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt’s analysis in “The Coddling of the American Mind.” Psychologists studying binary thinking have also found it... See more

The core flaw of hyper-individualism is that it leads to a degradation and a pulverization of the human person. It is a system built upon the egoistic drives within each of us. These are the self-interested drives—the desire to excel; to make a mark in the world; to rise in wealth, power, and status; to win victories and be better than others. Hype

... See more

While left and right seem totally polarized, they share one thing: the worship of the self.

The word “thumotic” here refers to Harvey Mansfield’s use of the Greek word “thumos” to mean a sort of political passion and drive. Francis Fukuyama spelled it “thymos”, and even predicted in 1992 that Donald Trump might be the perfect embodiment of Americans’ thymotic urge to tear down the liberal establishment.

Lyons thus sees Trumpism as a sort ... See more