The New Individualism

The New Individualism Corporate networking, compulsive consumerism, plastic surgery, therapeutic tribulations, instant identity makeovers and reality TV: welcome to life in our increasingly individualized world. In this dazzling book, Anthony Elliott and Charles Lemert explore the culture of the ‘new individualism’ generated by global capitalism, and develop a major new perspective on people’s emotional experiences of globalization. The New Individualism offers fascinating, but disturbing, accounts of people struggling to cope with a new individualism reshaping the world today. There is Larry, a high-tech executive ‘emotionally wrecked by success’; there is Ruth, a married woman in her late fifties, typing real-time erotica in cyberspace; there is Norman, a recovering drug addict infected with HIV, reinventing himself by accepting the deadly worlds for what they are; and Caoimhe and Annie, two little girls only beginning to explore the disorientating effects of the new individualism. This book powerfully cuts against the grain of current ortho- doxies that view globalization as corrosive of private life. Elliott and Lemert argue that today’s worlds are not only risky but deadly. Yet there is hope, the authors contend, beyond the complexities. Anthony Elliott is Professor and Chair of Sociology at Flinders University, Australia and Visiting Research Professor at the Open University, UK. His recent books, all published by Routledge, include Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction (2009), The Routledge Companion to Social Theory (2010) and Globalization (2010). Charles Lemert is John C. Andrus Professor of Sociology at Wesleyan University, USA. His recent books include Thinking the Unthinkable (2007), Social Theory (4th edition, 2009) and Globaliza- tion (2010). ‘An inspiring book.’ Professor Ulrich Beck, British Journal of Sociology ‘According to Charles Lemert and Anthony Elliott . globalization is transforming “the emotional textures of individualism”. In so diag- nosing the emotional discontents and demanding possibilities of the postmodern world, this wide-ranging book draws on social theorists from Jean Baudrillard to Ulrich Beck and psychoanalysts from Jacques Lacan to Julia Kristeva.’ American Journal of Sociology ‘This thought-provoking book is essential reading for social scientists.’ Journal of Sociology ‘This is a weak book’ Professor George Ritzer, Canadian Journal of Sociology ‘In flagging up the reality of “many incommensurable worlds” The New Individualism [goes] beyond the grand theorizations of Giddens, Beck and others . [An] invaluable excursion into the categorization of multiple realities.’ Theory, Culture and Society ‘Doing “macro” sociological theory through biography is one of the achievements of Anthony Elliott and Charles Lemert’s The New Individualism. An intriguing analytic strategy pursued by Elliott and Lemert is the elision of the boundary between sociological and everyday biography.’ Thesis Eleven ‘The New Individualism is undoubtedly a major statement in contemporary theory, and one that takes the innovative approach of studying global transformations and the fate of the modern ideal of individualism using the analytic of emotion.’ International Journal of Baudrillard Studies ‘This book is a stimulating and interesting read. The authors’ dis- tinction between three “new individualisms” provides clarity, and helps the reader to understand better the links between individualism and the current context of globalization. Their focus on the mechanics and impacts of globalizing social forces on the emotional lives of individuals is also distinctive and important. They provide powerful and convincing accounts of people’s struggles with these key issues, and engage energetically with sticky normative questions about how individuals might cope. For all of these reasons, The New Individualism comes recommended.’ Journal of Social Policy ‘The authors have drawn together and synthesized a huge body of social science literature that has accumulated on the subject of individualism over the last two centuries and they offer an extremely scholarly analysis of recent trends. The book is an enjoyable and informative read. It is highly recommended.’ Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare ‘An engagingly written volume.’ The Sociological Review ‘In The New Individualism Anthony Elliott and Charles Lemert have infused high theory with a sense of what it means for everyday life. Blending a discussion of theory with case histories they take us into the heart of the contemporary dilemmas of globalization, and the growing inequalities – and awareness of these inequalities – that create a growing sense of unease within even the most prosperous of societies. This is an important contribution to the sociology of a world marked both by increasing fear and unprecedented consumption.’ Dennis Altman, Professor of Politics, LaTrobe University. Author of Global Sex and Gore Vidal’s America ‘Bringing sociology down to earth the authors force us to confront the disturbing consequences of the new individualism. A powerful account of the implosion of private life.’ Frank Furedi, Professor of Sociology, University of Kent at Canterbury. Author of Therapy Culture: Cultivating Vulnerability In An Anxious Age ‘The New Individualism provides us with an original analysis of what is happening to our day-to-day life, and therefore our psyches, under globalization [ . ] Clearly written and well argued, this book will provide an important tool for anyone struggling to come to terms with our complex world.’ Drucilla Cornell, Professor of Political Science, Women and Gender Studies and Comparative Literature, Rutgers University. The New Individualism The Emotional Costs of Globalization Revised edition Anthony Elliott and Charles Lemert First published 2006 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Revised edition first published 2009 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. © 2006, 2009 Anthony Elliott and Charles Lemert All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-203-86570-7 Master e-book ISBN ISBN10: 0–415–56069–1 (hbk) ISBN10: 0–415–56070–5 (pbk) ISBN10: 0–203–86570–7 (ebk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–56069–6 (hbk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–56070–2 (pbk) ISBN13: 978–0–203–86570–5 (ebk) To Noah and Oscar, brothers to Annie and Caoimhe, who by the grace of life’s chances are themselves of different times and places – and to Matthew who left these dangerous worlds Contents Introduction to the Revised Edition xi Acknowledgements xxix Introduction 1 1 Individualism for beginners When Caoimhe met Annie somewhere in global space 17 2 Was the free individual just a dream? Snapshots of individualism and the illusion of the good society 43 3 Living in a privatized world Coping with globalization 79 4 On the individualist arts of sex Intimacy, eroticism and the newly lost individual 107 5 The self and other ethical troubles Ethics, social differences and the truths of multiculturalism 133 6 Surviving the new individualism Living aggressively in deadly worlds 159 Notes on selected individuals 197 Bibliography and further reading 201 Index 215 Introduction to the Revised Edition Some years have now passed since this book was first published. Yet it is a symptom of our times that what seems a good while in the past turns out to be, in this case, but a moment. We began conversations that led to the book early in the 2000s. The book appeared in 2006 and now, as we con- sider it afresh, the century is already a decade old. The times through which individuals, separately or well gathered, move are fast, to be sure, but they are more than that. Time flies in strange uneven circles. The new individualism, as we originally defined it, comprises four core dimensions: a relentless emphasis on self-reinvention; an endless hunger for instant change; a preoccupation with short-termism and episodicity; and a fas- cination with speed and dynamism. Our argument, broadly speaking, is that the new individualism can be deciphered from the culture in which people live their lives today – especially (but not only) those living in the polished, expen- sive cities of the West. Corporate networking, short-term project work, organizational downsizing, self-help manuals, compulsive consumerism, cybersex, instant identity makeovers and therapy culture: these are just some of the core features of global individualist culture, and throughout the book we developed the argument that immersion in such a world carries profound emotional consequences for people’s private and public lives. The academic and public impact of the book was, to us, surprising. Though we are

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