There is a certain trade off between liberalism's individualism with all its virtues and the more group oriented concept of society it has largely replaced. To

There is a certain trade off between liberalism's individualism with all its virtues and the more group oriented concept of society it has largely replaced. To a certain extent, this is a legal/phlosphical issue. We treat people as personally responsible for themselves and a "nuclear" family. Individuals are responsible for their own happiness, social environment, financial well-being.... Stresses, successes, disasters and windfalls are personal to a person/family. This leaves us more "uninsured" than we would have been in more integrated communities. The philosophical/legal side, grew alongside urbanism, globalism, capitalism and all the other features of a modern world. The philosphy of liberal individualism may be more cause than effect, it's hard to seperate. In any case, I think lonliness is a consequence of this way that our society is organized, a painful one. The "problem" is at its most acute among the elderly. This is getting past the point (I don't have a fix to suggest) but I think one way of thinking about how society is organized is considering companies. Companies have replaced clans, villages, tribes, sects and such as the primary way cooperation is organized. Company dynamics determine who does what and with who. Company hierarchies are the relevant hierarchies in our lives. They are, very disconnected form our "home life," in a way that I think is unusual for a human system.