This Is Interesting

 I don't always agree with Erik Loomis, as sometimes I find him a bit one-note in his analysis of things. (I adore his "Erik Visits An American Grave" Series.)

However, Loomis flags a really interesting analysis of the rise of neoliberalism. Thankfully, he repudiates the idea that neoliberalism is "anything I don't like that Democrats do" and focuses more on the economic and legal theories that ascended from the 1970s through today. 

In it, he talks about how the neoliberal view prioritized a sort of hyper-individualism. I had always put some of this at the feet of the instantaneousness of the internet. If you want something, you're a click away. Want to watch a show? Stream it. The idea of waiting until 11:25 to get the baseball scores from your local news is insane today. 

We are excellent consumers but poor citizens, because we have been trained to be excellent consumers and poor citizens. This is an interesting idea about how far back this trend goes.