The email in my Inbox this morning was clear. From a national holiday tour company which I have used before it informed me in bold headlines “We all deserve a little luxury”. It went on to explain that following the events of the past 12 months a little luxury is something that we all – and here it named me specifically – both need and deserve. Mmmmmm? But, I cannot help wondering, upon what basis is this assertion made? Do I – or does anyone else for that matter - deserve a little luxury? A “little luxury” would be nice, it’s true, but upon what premise or reasoning do I deserve it I ask myself? Is there some great universal truth that says that “a little luxury” is my rightful entitlement – for that is the implication of my "deserving" a little luxury - or is it, as I suspect, simply a vacuous assertion which not only has little worth or meaning but which has become part of our modern contemporary popular culture to be repeated and accepted as a great truth and a potential justification for dubious action? These are not flippant questions nor is this an isolated message; it is a message that we are exposed to incessantly in some form or another in the adverts on our TV screens, in our newspapers and in glossy magazines. It is also something that we have increasingly told our children in the past half century – that we, and they, are fully entitled to and deserving of whatever “luxuries” or dreams or desires they might have. In the words of the cosmetic advert “Go on – you know you’re worth it”; it is the cult of self that tells us that we have some kind of God given right to pleasure, luxury and self interest. It is also a very worrying trend.
It is, in terms of humanity, a relatively new phenomenon. Whilst parents throughout the ages have probably hoped and wished that their children would have better, easier, more fulfilling, more economically safe lives than themselves it is only in the last couple of centuries that these wishes have been widely met. In the past 50 years or so, however, things have almost certainly changed. We live today in an age when parents don’t just hope that their offspring’s life will be better than their own but where people are actively encouraged to maximise self interest and self advancement, when the young are advised from their earliest years that their personal happiness is paramount and that they can and should seek to fulfil their every dream; it is their birthright to be happy. It is the age of the self entitled and, sadly, the self righteous; an age where personal desires dominate, where little or nothing should stand in the way of our desires and happiness, where only our opinion is right, where only we are the holders of the truth; and if you disagree and seek to thwart or limit my desires, my self advancement, my entitlement and my self interest then you should be silenced, usually, by the power of social media.
But, in the face of a world where self advancement, self entitlement and self righteousness increasingly prevail the grounds for altruism or even good behaviour become obscured. If we enthusiastically support the propensity of people - especially the young - to look exclusively to their own needs and desires and where they are the sole guardians of “the truth” – their truth - we should not be surprised when their self advancement, self entitlement, self righteousness and their “truth” leads to the toppling statues, "no platforming" in our Universities, "trigger warnings" to preface academic lectures and tutorials or breaking the law by having public demonstrations which are in these Covid times forbidden. They might be quick to denounce perceived racism, sexism, homophobia, inequality and all the other real or perceived ills that affect our world but in reality their quickness to take offence is the only quick thing about them.
We are entering an age – termed by many as the Woke age - where a new breed of extremists who champion what they see as compassion and understanding yet are feral to those who disagree. It is an age which might also be described as the “tyranny of self” where, if you are not with these champions of self advancement, self interest and self entitlement you are against them for they have been brought up to believe nothing is their fault and that their cause comes before all else, including, sometimes, the law. It is a zero sum game in which the baying mob seek to remove all nuance and shades of opinion – always the first objective of any would be dictator or tyrannical regime.
But all this has consequences. We should not be too surprised today in this age to find a falling away in terms of civic engagement, public decision making and indeed distrust and lack of engagement with public and political institutions and affairs. We should not be surprised when this leads to a wider rejection of those elected to be in charge of our affairs or indeed those, like the police, mandated to uphold the law. We should not be surprised that the very health and nature of our democracy is at stake.
But at the same time, nor should we be at all surprised when this personal and civic disappointment and disengagement becomes an issue of personal well being and mental health. In short, we have made our young a promise that in most cases cannot be delivered; they have been promised the earth and that nothing is out of reach but the University of Life so often disappoints: harsh reality kicks in and disappointment, disengagement, anger or personal anxiety too often become features of life both individual and societal. They have been led to believe and expect that the world is theirs, that their truth is the only truth; that their happiness, success and beliefs are the only things that matter and to which they are entitled – and that is a thin gruel indeed upon which to build a life and offers no protection when their “truths” are found wanting, and their needs, desires and expectations are disappointed.
Much of our present impasse can be traced back to the 1960s but although its roots are there the cult of the individual, of self interest, self entitlement and self righteousness is more linked to the late 1970s and 80s. One of the moderating constraints of the ’60s was the widespread impulse to enter public service or the liberal professions: education, medicine, journalism, government, the arts or public sector law. Few—very few—graduates before the mid -’70s sought out a ‘business’ education; and the numbers applying to law school were far lower than they are today. Instrumental self-advancement conflicted with the acquired habit of working with and for one’s fellow citizens. In a survey of English schools in 1949 it was discovered that the more intelligent the child the more likely he or she was to choose and interesting career with a reasonable wage, job security and personal satisfaction over a job that simply paid well.
Recent surveys – and especially those dating from the 1990’s – however, are conclusive, and tell us that today’s young increasingly can imagine little else but the search for a lucrative career. They, and we, are fast losing the ability to even imagine a society or a career based upon anything other than personal gain and self satisfaction and self entitlement. Both at an individual level and a societal level we are losing a sense of purpose – other than our own short term advantage. Political scientist the late Albert Hirschman spoke of “the need for all societies to develop and ensure their ability to satisfy and promote a higher purpose and meaning in the lives of its men and women”; that is an ideal that is in the 21st century under severe strain. In the face of rampant globalisation, the consumer society, social media, a culture of self interest, self advancement, self entitlement and celebrity obsession we are in danger of losing completely.
And when it is gone, what is left? Margaret Thatcher’s comment that “There is no such thing as society” takes on a powerful and worrying resonance. In such a culture where the old ties, hopes, fears, realities and aspirations that once bound us together have been replaced with self interest, self advancement, self entitlement and self righteousness, where the young are advised from their earliest years that their personal happiness is paramount, and where the consumer society, the media and social media scream out to all “Go on – you’re worth it, you can have it all”, we inevitably will have increased difficulty in comprehending what we have in common with others, for our self is all that matters. We lose touch with the affinities, the hopes, dreams, hopes and fears of our neighbours; we are in danger of losing empathy and understanding with those around us and in the wider world; we have become an “I” society replacing what was until the last 40 years or so a “We” society. And as that happens the very fabric of our moral as well as our democratic landscape is in danger of falling apart in the face of the "tyranny of self"
We are entering an age – termed by many as the Woke age - where a new breed of extremists who champion what they see as compassion and understanding yet are feral to those who disagree. It is an age which might also be described as the “tyranny of self” where, if you are not with these champions of self advancement, self interest and self entitlement you are against them for they have been brought up to believe nothing is their fault and that their cause comes before all else, including, sometimes, the law. It is a zero sum game in which the baying mob seek to remove all nuance and shades of opinion – always the first objective of any would be dictator or tyrannical regime.
But all this has consequences. We should not be too surprised today in this age to find a falling away in terms of civic engagement, public decision making and indeed distrust and lack of engagement with public and political institutions and affairs. We should not be surprised when this leads to a wider rejection of those elected to be in charge of our affairs or indeed those, like the police, mandated to uphold the law. We should not be surprised that the very health and nature of our democracy is at stake.
But at the same time, nor should we be at all surprised when this personal and civic disappointment and disengagement becomes an issue of personal well being and mental health. In short, we have made our young a promise that in most cases cannot be delivered; they have been promised the earth and that nothing is out of reach but the University of Life so often disappoints: harsh reality kicks in and disappointment, disengagement, anger or personal anxiety too often become features of life both individual and societal. They have been led to believe and expect that the world is theirs, that their truth is the only truth; that their happiness, success and beliefs are the only things that matter and to which they are entitled – and that is a thin gruel indeed upon which to build a life and offers no protection when their “truths” are found wanting, and their needs, desires and expectations are disappointed.
Much of our present impasse can be traced back to the 1960s but although its roots are there the cult of the individual, of self interest, self entitlement and self righteousness is more linked to the late 1970s and 80s. One of the moderating constraints of the ’60s was the widespread impulse to enter public service or the liberal professions: education, medicine, journalism, government, the arts or public sector law. Few—very few—graduates before the mid -’70s sought out a ‘business’ education; and the numbers applying to law school were far lower than they are today. Instrumental self-advancement conflicted with the acquired habit of working with and for one’s fellow citizens. In a survey of English schools in 1949 it was discovered that the more intelligent the child the more likely he or she was to choose and interesting career with a reasonable wage, job security and personal satisfaction over a job that simply paid well.
Recent surveys – and especially those dating from the 1990’s – however, are conclusive, and tell us that today’s young increasingly can imagine little else but the search for a lucrative career. They, and we, are fast losing the ability to even imagine a society or a career based upon anything other than personal gain and self satisfaction and self entitlement. Both at an individual level and a societal level we are losing a sense of purpose – other than our own short term advantage. Political scientist the late Albert Hirschman spoke of “the need for all societies to develop and ensure their ability to satisfy and promote a higher purpose and meaning in the lives of its men and women”; that is an ideal that is in the 21st century under severe strain. In the face of rampant globalisation, the consumer society, social media, a culture of self interest, self advancement, self entitlement and celebrity obsession we are in danger of losing completely.
And when it is gone, what is left? Margaret Thatcher’s comment that “There is no such thing as society” takes on a powerful and worrying resonance. In such a culture where the old ties, hopes, fears, realities and aspirations that once bound us together have been replaced with self interest, self advancement, self entitlement and self righteousness, where the young are advised from their earliest years that their personal happiness is paramount, and where the consumer society, the media and social media scream out to all “Go on – you’re worth it, you can have it all”, we inevitably will have increased difficulty in comprehending what we have in common with others, for our self is all that matters. We lose touch with the affinities, the hopes, dreams, hopes and fears of our neighbours; we are in danger of losing empathy and understanding with those around us and in the wider world; we have become an “I” society replacing what was until the last 40 years or so a “We” society. And as that happens the very fabric of our moral as well as our democratic landscape is in danger of falling apart in the face of the "tyranny of self"
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