I disagree; I do think the "old cowboy" trope is closely related to today's loneliness epidemic and disagree with the notion that modern loneliness is rooted on

I disagree; I do think the "old cowboy" trope is closely related to today's loneliness epidemic and disagree with the notion that modern loneliness is rooted on the "lack of concrete agency on one's life". Source: me. The trope of the hero, the power of will and life as a personal and individual journey is widespread in American culture and its cultural exports (Hollywood, music, etc). Also very widespread, the idea of personal sacrifice to achieve something greater than oneself, and linking masculinity with self-determination, ruggedness, independence and self-made success. All of these, IMO, are related to the lone cowboy trope. The old lone cowboy is still today considered "sexy". Loneliness is still considered masculine; if you picture a "chad", they're not living with roommates, much less with their parents— they have with their own ability been able to amass economic success to rent a one bedroom and live alone. I'm from a country where it's not the norm that people move to another city for college, or leave their parent's home at 18. I went to study to the USA, where it was either assumed, or the goal. Of course you're moving out at 18, and trying to land at a college considering as top priority your story of personal challenge and protagonist-style achievement. A last priority tends to be being close to family. Many try to avoid it. Same work-wise. You go where the best career prospects are, or where you think it'd be "cool" to live. Often, further down the list of priorities is being close to your family, or sticking with your friends. I'd call this the opposite to "lacking agency on one's life". It's the opposite, you're told you've got complete agency of your life, and if you let others influence it away from maximizing your "success", you're wasting it for the sake of others. I do agree with the idea that this is "extreme subjection of the individual to an all-encompassing social-economic-cultural system" though— one that whose idealization of individualism gave us the lone cowboy trope, and in turn feeds off it.