The Age of Selfishness in 4 Charts

It’s no secret that we have a massive selfishness problem in our culture, so much so that I think it’s fair to call this the Age of Selfishness.  This is the era of the selfie after all and a time where we celebrate individualism, almost completely unmoored from a collective value system.  All that matters is what you can do for yourself. 

Interestingly, there is a sense in which history waxes and wanes on a selfishness/selflessness spectrum:

There are times when culture inclines more toward the collective—think war or some other crisis—and times when the individual is all-important. In one of my favorite books on the subject—“The Fourth Turning” by William Strauss and Neil Howe—the authors envision history as a predictable cyclical process involving 4 stages where the civic order evolves with the waxing and waning of individualistic sentiment.

Their theory is rather complex and not something we can really “prove” (not enough data) but it is super interesting and definitely worth examining.  One of their main points is that the engine for this cycle relates to parenting dynamics—essentially, generations get defined by the dominant parenting style of the age and the reason history moves in cycles is that people have this innate tendency to react against the way they were raised—i.e. to do things differently than their parents did.  Whatever you think of their theory, this is a profound and accurate insight. 

Anyway, I think we can all agree on this: there’s never been an era quite like this when it comes to individualism.  We literally worship the self like we once did God.  Our over-focus on the individual has gone so far that now it’s manifesting everywhere in our society.  Phenomena that appear like anonymous social and economic forces are actually a result of our extreme self-focus.  Let me give you a few examples:

If debt represents the pulling forward of spending and a transfer from the future to the present, what this chart says to me is that we’ve been almost criminal in trying to satisfy the insatiable demands of the moment.  We’ve been so focused on our own wants and needs we have forgotten completely about our children and grandchildren.  There’s no starker manifestation of the Age of Selfishness than the global debt problem.  For, who’s going to pay the bill when this all comes due?  Our collective reckless disregard for the future is a direct result of a culture that prioritizes and glorifies the self over all else.  Why save for the future?  That’s someone else’s problem, right? 

Can there be anything more disheartening than this?  For the last 30 years, corporate leaders have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of their employees as they have extracted more and more resources for themselves.  As much as we like to celebrate and deify our CEOs, this is not real leadership.  No, not at all.  This is an extreme manifestation of the cult of the self, rapacious behavior that’s become normalized in our sick world.

There is no more jarring daily reminder of how bad things have gotten in our society than the homelessness crisis.  We have the wealthiest society in all of human history and yet as you walk down our streets what you see are people living in some of the worst conditions imaginable.  How is that possible?  We have come to celebrate individualism so much that not only do we NOT feel responsible for the homeless but we have deluded ourselves into believing that we are somehow honoring their right to self-determination by not intervening.  This is not right. 

The trends around suicide and drug overdose are depressing and concerning.  They are a manifestation of something we don’t talk a lot about in our society—that there’s a dark side to individualism.  Look, it’s all good if you happen to be one of those lucky few who find a way to live their dreams but what happens if you don’t or cannot?  Then what?  The truth is that there’s an emptiness to extreme individualism and life without the structures of supportive communities can be overwhelming.  

I am beginning to believe that the thing that most needs to change in the world is our over-focus on the importance of the individual.  Of course, we don’t want to swing too far in the opposite direction.  There’s no truth or hope in the collectivist utopian fantasies of communism either.  What we are looking for is the optimal level, the place where individuals, while free to pursue their dreams, are responsible enough to balance their interests against those of the greater community.  We want a world where individuals can flourish but not to the detriment of others or the community at large.  We want a world where instead of making Gods of ourselves we identify with something far bigger and much more meaningful.

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