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If people enjoy reading history like this, I highly recommend Jeffrey Frieden's "Global Capitalism: It's Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century." Overall, I th

If people enjoy reading history like this, I highly recommend Jeffrey Frieden's "Global Capitalism: It's Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century." Overall, I think a dimension perhaps lacking in PG's otherwise fantastic writeup is that this 'fragmentation' opens up a space of freedom. I mean, our society basically interpolates individuals (younger generations at least) as existential subjects - no set path on what we should do with our lives, no God, no religion, we have to make our own meaning. Painful and difficult, but a source of freedom either way. Today I can travel as a digital nomad, found a startup, work for a rocketship, work for a stable, high paying company, freelance, or switch careers altogether. I get to choose who I associate with and date and marry (and it's even acceptable to not marry), while choosing from a much larger, more open pool, and for the most part, I get to choose who I am. Not everyone has access to this freedom, but it's still the point in human history when the largest number of people have ever had access to this freedom.

weisser 11y ago
> Not everyone has access to this freedom Exactly! Completely agree. You and I are rather fortunate. People who have this freedom should realize it and be advocates for others so they might have similar opportunities.
orthoganol 11y ago
Based on the downvotes this received, I can only conclude that either people really aren't aware of how free they are (or deny it because it's comfortable and easier to not change), aren't interested in going through the struggle of setting out a life for themselves (as opposed to mimicking others, which is also easier), think I'm being elitist, or they are religious and object to my saying young generations are born without God and religion (even though here in the first world Angloshpere, we are, for the most part, born without God and religion). Whatever your reason, it is still difficult to deny (IMHO) that more than ever today we have the freedom to set our own path, in a way we never have before.

weisser 11y ago

> Not everyone has access to this freedom Exactly! Completely agree. You and I are rather fortunate. People who have this freedom should realize it and be advocates for others so they might have similar opportunities.

orthoganol 11y ago

Based on the downvotes this received, I can only conclude that either people really aren't aware of how free they are (or deny it because it's comfortable and easier to not change), aren't interested in going through the struggle of setting out a life for themselves (as opposed to mimicking others, which is also easier), think I'm being elitist, or they are religious and object to my saying young generations are born without God and religion (even though here in the first world Angloshpere, we are, for the most part, born without God and religion). Whatever your reason, it is still difficult to deny (IMHO) that more than ever today we have the freedom to set our own path, in a way we never have before.