Simon Lennon

Western Individualism Simon Lennon

Individualism is not individuality. Individualism is our new, uniquely Western insistence that people are single, solitary selves: I am just I, you are just you, and he or she is just he or she. Individuality is different tastes, opinions, and so forth we traditionally cherished. Paradoxically, we've become much alike.

The author's experiences through his corporate legal career demonstrate that the only sustainable basis for morality between people has proven to be tribalism of some form, inspiring us to a common good. People in big corporations are like people outside, but with our characters most obvious in tightly confined spaces.

Without tribalism, ethics are just marketing. We might treat our friends and family well, but not people whose paths we cross. If tribalism leaves people without empathy for people of other tribes, then Western individualism produces people without empathy for anyone.