What about Me?

Exactly two years ago I asked whether our social DNA was changing. I conceded that older generations have this annoying habit of finding fault with the latest generation – in our case things like the “attention deficit” which modern IT gadgets seem to develop, “instant gratification” and how this might affect future “character”.

Surveys such as the World Values and Eurobarometer do indicate a large and significant trend since the early 1970s toward more individualistic, selfish and less trusting societies….And the post quoted the studies on this of people such as Daniel Bell (Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism), Richard Sennett (The Culture of the New Capitalism), Francis Fukuyama (The Great Disruption – human nature and the reconstitution of social order) – ending with Reckless Opportunists – elites at the end of the establishment (2018) with its ruthless exposure of the almost criminal damage which a new breed of elites have inflicted on a once proud nation. 

But we have to be careful – none of these writers have any particular claims to psychological insights into people’s souls. They are, rather, social commentators. I read the occasional psychology book – Robin Skynner and John Cleese’s "Life and How to Survive it" (1993) made a big impact. Jonathan Haidt’s “The Righteous Mind” was much appreciated – Steven Pinker less so.

"What about Me? the struggle for identity in a market-based society" by a Dutch psychotherapist, Paul Verhaege, came out in 2014 and was quite an unusual choice for me. It lay on the shelf for some time before I opened it – to discover a real gem.  It ranges through intellectual history, sociology and ethics before suggesting that the last few decades have seen a radical new self-identity being engineered – which he calls “The Enron Society”. 

The book starts by contrasting our two basic urges as individuals - the initial sense of "belonging" and the growing need for "separation" - and how this expresses itself in later struggles eg "self-respect" v "self-hatred". 

From his initial discussion of "identity", he then moves onto a fascinating discussion of values and morality - showing how the Greeks had an integrated view of our character which Christianity destroyed when it placed God as an external power. The Enlightenment dethroned religion to an extent – although Verhaeghe argues that Diderot’s emphasis on reason, passion and empathy was set aside by an unholy coalition of Voltaire and Rousseau who basically helped the French state set up a new religion. He also argues that true rationality started only after the second WW – which fits with the more recent arguments of people like Nicolas Guilhot who are beginning to analyse the role of the military in the post-war social sciences. 

It’s the chapter on the Enron Society where he really lets rip – “The west has never had it so good – but never felt so bad!” leads to a discussion on mental illness and the pharma industry. How, he asks, has 30 years of neoliberalism affected our DNA – with its “Rank and Yank” systems of management; Universities as knowledge businesses; anonymous call-centres; CCTV; ubiquitous contracts, rules, regulations, league tables, fear, uncertainty - but no real accountability 

Typically, however, it’s the final section which lets him down. Apart from repeating Mintzberg’s call for “balance” and praising the Wilkinson/Pickett line on equality, his only advice seems to be for greater activism – “Ditch the cynicism!”!!

But it’s good to have a text from outwith the anglo-american core – with several interesting discoveries in his little bibliography (which doesn’t, however, mention Kenneth Gergen’s “TheSaturated Self” or “Life and How to Survive it”)

In the same spirit, I was disappointed to notice that William Davies’ Nervous States – how feeling took over the world (2018) didn’t mention Verhaeghe;s book