On the one hand, we have the breakdown of traditional family structures, of belief in God, and of nationalism—the things in which we have historically found a sense of purpose that transcends the self. As these collective myths break down, the void has been filled by the rise of extreme individualism. There are no gods, no objective moral truths, a

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These incidents of “political correctness,” amplified by right-wing media, whipped up hatred of elites out in Real America. The culture wars raged on, as bloody-minded and durable as the Thirty Years’ War, a full-employment program for pundits of every type. Some worried about a generation of ultra-sensitive children coddled by ultra-indulgent adul

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