The “individualism” of capitalism

In contrast to the rugged individualism of today, there is a healthy individualism. A happy child is someone who has enough care, attention, play time with his peers and also some degree of freedom and autonomy. These are the social conditions necessary for a healthy sense of individuality to develop. When children are denied this, they usually grow up socially needy. They have poor boundries and are less liekely to be able to resist peer pressure, think for themselves or assert their individual needs in a responsible way. That’s what happens to a society that dismisses community and solidarity in favor of neoliberal “individual” values. One gets not healthy individuals, but a population that has too much social anxiety to know where to beging organizing politically.