“Another factor affecting the nature of anti-Semitic manifestations is cultural in a deeper sense. Some societies value individualism more than communalism, some the other way around. In most Western societies and in American society in particular, the ethos at large sees each individual as a free and autonomous agent, so conformist behavior is less frequent and extreme than in societies in which hierarchy and communal norms prevail. On the other hand, communally oriented societies tend to have stronger control mechanism against antisocial behavior. The result is that individualistic societies tend to produce outlaws and one-off weirdoes, while hierarchical or communal -oriented societies are better at producing mobs. Mobs are better suited for enabling anti-Semitic policies and attitudes. It is no accident that fascism set deeper roots in more communally oriented European societies-Germany, Italy, and Spain- than in more individualistic ones like Britain, Holland, and the Scandinavian countries.”
Adam Garfinkle in “Jewcentricity”
HKO comments- our individualistic tendencies are not to be taken for granted. It is the reason, in my opinion, that the current administration is getting such strong push back from grand sweeping, seemingly anti-individual solutions. Ideas such as “It Takes a Village” run against the grain of the American culture.
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