TOW #21 The Age Of Individualism by Ross Douthat

What was most interesting about this article was not the idea that it presented (which was indeed very thought provoking) but was instead it’s ending. Judging from the opinions presented in the article, I was in the mind set that there would be a definitive endpoint. Yet, the article didn’t serve as one. It was more of a “probably” sort of thing which seemed a little out of place with the rest of the article. Besides the ending, however, this article by Ross Douthat in the New York Times (appropriately titled, The Age of Individualism) provides both analysis of the current societal trends and political behaviors (of the younger mindset) and a glance as to what is in store for the future.

This article discusses the “millennials” (a category that I fall into, from what I gather) and their trends in political views. Even though the millennials are turning to different views collectively, these views now represent a growing individualism within each single member. This was a little difficult to understand at first but, as the article says, “It (individualism) explains both the personal optimism and the social mistrust, the passion about causes like gay marriage and the declining interest in collective-action crusades like environmentalism, even the fact that religious affiliation has declined but personal belief is still widespread” (par. 4) Individualism means not that the people of the new generation all think differently, but that they think for themselves most of all. The article then presented an interesting idea (one that relates to an earlier point in my latest essay, that history repeats itself.)

“The advance of individualism thus eventually produced its own antithesis — conformism, submission and control” (par. 9) This idea was what intrigued me so much about the article. Articles on individualism are abundant these days (after all, it is “The Age of Individualism”) but nobody really ever stops to think about what happens next. According to this article, the future holds a collectivism to it that can only be inspired by the technological age. I thought this was an interesting direction, and it certainly made the article more interesting. I can’t wait to see how it all plays out.