Reversing Atomization with Intentional Solidarity

Liberalism and Atomization

Has postliberalism failed? Notre Dame professor and author of the book, Why Liberalism Failed, Patrick Deneen, asserts that liberalism has failed due to a false anthropology which assumes humans are by nature self-interested individuals, instead of social creatures that crave belonging and connections. Hundreds of thousands of people across the United States devoured the book’s contents noting that despite ushering in technological progress and material prosperity, liberalism has left too many Americans feeling that there is no meaning to life. Even those without higher education in politics or philosophy understand that this nihilism leads to the atomization of society into radically individualized consumers who move from one hedonistic activity to another forgoing building the very relationships that bring deeper meaning to human beings’ time on earth. With so many folks acknowledging this atomizing force of our culture, why hasn’t a postliberal movement gained substantial traction?

The simplest reason is that accepting liberal anthropology is easy and trying to explain the importance of faith, tradition, and place is hard. Liberal anthropology undermines efforts. According to Deneen, right liberals push for economic freedom ignoring the preferential option of the poor and left liberals push for bodily autonomy ignoring natural law and traditional morals. Neither of these pursuits adheres to the classical understanding of freedom proposed by both Greek and early Christian philosophers. These ancient thinkers said freedom was found through self-mastery, allowing us to do what is right rather than chase our base desires. This empty pursuit leads to atomization.

In her essay, “All The Lonely People: The Atomized Generation”,Willow Liana shares the following:

It is not simply that people feel lonely; it is that people are less connected than they have ever been. We are in a crisis of atomization. Where loneliness is a feeling inside of us, atomization speaks to the reality of our circumstances. Although loneliness can present itself in any culture and time, its current excess is a byproduct of atomization.

She mentions the word “liberal” only once but articulates well how post-liberals should understand the concept of atomization in order to explain it to friends and family. Liana continues:

Atomization is the process by which larger units—compounds or cultures, molecules or families—are broken down into their subcomponents, their individuality gaining clarity as their relationships disintegrate.

She explains how seeking status, freedom from constraint, and loss of place have led to a society of alienated individuals. I referred to this phenomenon in 2020 when I ran for Vice-President with Brian Carroll on the American Solidarity Party national ticket. My tagline was that we need policy that rebuilds #FamilyFriendsFaith, the core relationships that make our lives worth living. In order to do that I have been developing a framework of Intentional Solidarity.

What is Intentional Solidarity?

The virtue of solidarity emphasizes the social and economic interdependence of all people. “We are all in this together” somewhat captures the essence of solidarity, but Mother Teresa framed it better when she lamented, “We have forgotten that we belong to each other.” Contrast her communitarian worldview to the liberal mindset in which we are completely free of constraints from the expectations and demands placed on us by both those around us and by tradition.

In contrast, our consumerist market consistently works in opposition to solidarity. It seems that every new economic development involves empowering large scale corporate entities through impersonal online purchasing. Economic activity revolves around humans making the cheapest and most convenient decision, but human relationships are not cheap nor are they convenient.

As a result, we unintentionally separate ourselves from each other through an increasing number of daily actions like online shopping, online banking, online dating, online medical visits, and even online churches. We take part in this activity because of convenience and often price, but when most decision-making conforms to amoral parameters your conscience becomes ill-formed to make moral decisions.

Intentional Solidarity means actively reversing the atomizing process in society by seeking ways to rebuild relationships by taking the road less traveled. This requires first taking small steps of sacrifice in doing less convenient actions at a small increased personal cost to retrain your brain into thinking about others before yourself. Only in this way can we make the larger scale cultural changes necessary to derive the properly-ordered political upheaval we seek.

A.C.T. to rebuild #FamilyFriendsFaith

As a candidate, I argued that the United States needs policy that would help rebuild the critical bonds of #FamilyFriendsFaith that have been dismantled by atomization. This reversal can be fueled in a three step process that will realign the culture we need to see. We must A.C.T. to make the change we want in the world. First, we must Acknowledge there is a problem and define exactly how that problem affects us in our own lives. Second, we must engage in Communal Activity to reverse the atomization that renders us isolated individuals. Finally, after gaining expertise on the nature of atomization and community building we must Teach our friends and family about the real dangers of living in society that is designed to rip us apart and how proper formation can protect our family, friends, and faith from disintegrating.

Acknowledge
Nearly all recovery methods begin with acknowledging that one has a problem. Whether it is alcoholism, gambling, or some other debilitating disorder, the sufferer must admit to himself/herself that his/her life is headed in the wrong direction. I suggest something akin to an examination of conscience to help people identify where they are at with atomization, especially when it comes to #FamilyFriendsFaith.

Family:

• If my parents are alive, do I call them regularly? What about siblings? What about children outside of the house?

• If I am married, do I seek to fulfill the needs of my spouse equally to my own?

• If my children live at home, do I spend time each day to ensure that they are thriving? Do they  have what they need for their spiritual formation?

• Do I make it clear to my domestic and extended family how important it is to participate in critical family events like church attendance, meals, social events, etc?

Friends:

• Do I have at least two or three friends who check in with me once a week?

• Do I make time at least once a month to physically meet up with friends to see how things are going?

• If I work outside of the house, do I have at least two or three solid relationships with co-workers that improve the satisfaction of the workday?

Faith:

• Do I have a church, other faith community, or meaningful service organization that I attend on a regular basis?

• Do I have connections that are deeper than surface level connections with others at this kind of place of deeper introspection?

• Do I offer my time and talent to further develop my church or service organization?

Note that this is hardly an exhaustive list of questions. Answering no to most or all of these should raise alarm bells for you. People need to start realizing there is a problem so they can proceed to the next step.

Communal Activity 

The success of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in 2014 demonstrates that communal activity can both do something positive and inspire others to take action. Willow Liana ends her essay by challenging: 

We are living in a time where we cannot accept the social norms if we are to live well. We must live each day in radical opposition to the world, keeping in mind that the economics of modern life are designed to atomize us, and we must be active in preserving a better way of life.

I propose the “radical opposition” that Liana speaks of must take hold in a cultural movement of Intentional Solidarity. We must recognize that politics is downstream of culture. In order to secure political victories, there needs to be an upheaval at the grassroots level. To revive a communitarian culture, we can start by creating an army of humans who relentlessly seek to reconnect themselves, their loved ones, and strangers back into the core relationships that make life worthwhile. We can spread a spirit of #IntentionalSolidarity through social media, phone calls, and personal meetings.

For most of us, that spirit can be spread only within our sphere of influence. Many postliberal prescriptions for a better tomorrow offer deeply philosophical and remote political solutions. Christians and all people of goodwill who want to reverse atomization can do so at grassroots levels by integrating ourselves into our local government. After we have practiced #IntentionalSolidarity with our families, friends, coworkers and fellow parishioners, the next practical space will be our communities. 

Teaching

Spreading the spirit of solidarity within our sphere is the beginning of the third step: teaching others and growing the movement from the ground up. Most people, with a bit of introspection, will be able to acknowledge their own level of atomization and many might even take the next step of reaching out in response to an #IntentionalSolidarity challenge. However,what a movement like this really needs is people who take the time to take a deep dive into the issues and comprehend why culture needs a shift.The actions of only a few people can cause a cultural shift in a community thus yielding a change in that town’s politics. As several reintegrated communities begin working together, they could cause the culture of an entire county to shift. That would allow for a state representative, senator, or maybe even a U.S. Congressperson to be elected. Then, to cause a cultural shift in a state or a nation, there would  need to be a multitude of content producers, authors, and influencers to take on the mantle of #IntentionalSolidarity. One person or a small group can’t do it alone. Which in essence is the whole point, isn’t it?