I disagree, but I'm not saying there is anything wrong with a sense of self or the individual. Individuality gives rise to the most beautiful and creative expression of what it truly is to live. I'm certainly not suggesting that we be clones. However if we totally disregard a sense of "we" or "us" then isolation and loneliness is an apparent consequence. I think we've taken our individual rights too far (modern society tells us that the individual comes before society, rather than society before the individual), to such an extent that we forfeit virtually all sense of significant membership or belonging. Imagine feeling patriotic about your country and the prime minister. Imagine having a strong sense of community, knowing the name of Mr. so-and-so from the greengrocer, imagine if life was about cooperating rather than competing, imagine going to a lecture and rather than being surrounded by people (and still feeling lonely) that you knew these people and had an emotional tie with them. Even if you do develop emotional connections with people the reality is that it will likely only be temporary. From the outside it looks like we spend time with others constantly, but we don't actually know most of them. The village (pre-industrial revolution) was designed to look out for one another. People shared values, people shared property, people shared their lives with one another. Society was in essence communally integrated, whereas today we are socially separated. We feel separated from society and from each other. Previously life was basically shared and catered for the human desire for community, engagement, and dependence. I think we're no longer individuals within society but rather individuals separate from society; separate from each other.
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