Dr. Theresa del Tufo is an organizational consultant and author. Her fifth book, “Women Powered!: A New Paradigm of Influence and Equity,” is now available. She has been a resident of Dover for more than 50 years.
I have this good habit of taking a pause and reflecting on the results of the election a week or two after the event. Although voters appear to reject the extremists, the nation seems to still be entrenched into two cultural tribes and two conflicting realities. I suspect that the polarization that we are experiencing in our nation right now could be linked to our values of individualism and competition. Values form and shape the collective cultural makeup of our institutions and, ultimately, the social fabric of the American society.
What are values and why are they important? Values refer to intangible qualities or beliefs considered good, right and desirable by a given society and are manifested in the behavior of individuals. They are deeply embedded in a society’s culture and become automatic and reflexive as they get integrated into individuals’ subconscious minds. For example, American values include equality, individualism, competition, work orientation and materialism, to name a critical few. Is there a correlation between our values and the polarization that we are faced with at this moment in our nation’s history?
Individualism versus a collectivist culture
Americans firmly believe that every person is unique, self-sufficient and independent. The rights of individuals to choose are critically important and are considered distinct and separate from families, communities and society in general. Americans prefer to shape their own destinies and choose their preferred pathways in life. This fierce sense of individualism came in full spectacle during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, where a sizeable number of Americans refused to comply with mandatory vaccination, masking and other preventive measures to minimize the spread of the virus. Individualism, carried to extremes, has invaded the health landscape of our lives.
Author Kendra Cherry noted that “collectivist cultures emphasize the needs and goals of the group as a whole over the needs and desires of each individual. In such cultures, relationships with other members of the group and the interconnectedness between people play a central role in each person’s identity.” In our complex society, systemic and intractable problems cannot be solved by a single individual. Global problems, such as homelessness, food insecurity, ecological disaster and social injustice plaguing every continent are beyond the span of control and influence of discrete individuals and individual nations.
Competition versus collaboration
A pervasive American value that permeates every area of American life is competition. Its ubiquitous presence can be seen in sports, schools, employment and in every American institution. It is celebrated as a virtue and as a cherished value that’s imparted to young men at an early age.
Is healthy competition beneficial, that is, if we keep everything in perspective? Or is competition inherently a destructive and pernicious practice? In the competition equation, when someone succeeds, the other fails. Why do we have to have winners and losers?
How about looking into the beneficial aspects of cooperation and support as a driving force for success? Can it replace competition as the new lifeblood of American society? We preach teamwork, cooperation and partnership in the workplace, in schools, in sports and practically everywhere, but our actions demonstrate the opposite. There’s a lack of alignment between what we say and what we do.
Individualism and normlessness
Emile Durkheim, the “father of sociology,” introduced the concept of anomie in his seminal book, “The Division of Labor in Society” (1893). He believed that, in modern society, there’s a fair degree of agreement on norms and values that regulate accepted behavior in society. Acceptance and compliance are fairly stable when societal change is minimal. However, during times of rapid social change (e.g., insurrection, pandemic, economic problems), when norms, values and ways of behaving are in transition, people start to doubt and become unsure of accepted ways of behaving. It’s at this critical time that anomie or normlessness happens — the blurring and eventual breakdown of norms that regulate individual and collective standards of behavior. Durkheim noted that that normlessness happens more often in societies where individualism predominates because they lack the social solidarity that acts as a protective shield by minimizing the effects of external threats on individuals. I thought that this approach could be useful to decision-makers and leaders, as they reflect on the root causes of normlessness and polarization in our country today and look for possible solutions.
Robert Merton (1938, 1957) applied Durkheim’s theory to the United States and is said to have “argued that anomie is not simply about unregulated goals, but a broken relationship between cultural goals and legitimate means of accessing them.” He noted that Americans are socialized to believe that possibilities for success are limitless, no matter what barriers you’re facing. He also pointed out that there’s a misalignment between cultural goals and legitimate access of achieving them. When there’s a mismatch, then deviance occurs, and some elements of the population resort to illegitimate means to achieve societal goals. This could explain why, during this current time, there’s rampant crime and violence in our country.
The enemy is us
There is a reflexive tendency among humans to first look externally for the problem and cast the blame on others. Since 9/11, our country has been laser focused in eliminating the threat from Muslim countries that culminated in the death of Osama bin Ladin and Ayman al-Zawahiri. We are becoming more aware of the existential threats posed by the Russians, the Chinese, the North Koreans and the Iranians. Sometimes, we fail to appreciate the danger from within, as in the spectacle of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Even after listening to the disturbing findings uncovered by the Jan. 6 House select committee, many in the American public appear unfazed by this attack on our democracy.
The public remains polarized, and there’s a profound lack of trust in our leaders, governments and institutions. There’s normalization of deviance, criminal behavior and lowering of standards. What happened to our cherished values of integrity, national pride and love of country? We all need to pause and reflect on our role in this equation, and how our individual and collective values and institutions have led us to this precipice.
Individualism is a two-edged sword — maybe, the wisdom, tribal knowledge and fierce individualism of the people and their commitment to freedom can save us from the tyranny of a one-man rule.
Finally, President John F. Kennedy cautioned us that “there are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction.”
