Civic Chaos and the Myth of Autonomy
by Brian Jones, Public Discourse:
A regime that rejects the primacy of truth and attempts to upend our social nature will inevitably create conditions for civic unrest.
The farmer and social critic Wendell Berry argues that contemporary life in America could be described in terms of “radical disconnections.” This brokenness is what makes Americans feel so frustrated and confused.
The breakdown of robust communities, neighborhoods, and various forms of associative life has left many people incapable of navigating the difficulties and complexities of life. The works of Robert Nisbet and Robert Putnam demonstrate that communal life in America has been decimated and replaced by an excessive political and cultural individualism. As Nisbet argues, contemporary individualism has not erased humans’ natural desire to live in community. On the contrary, it has only further exacerbated such innate inclinations.
This reality explored by Berry and others can be traced to our acceptance of the dangerous modern myth of autonomy. Viewing ourselves as totally autonomous beings strips us of our anthropological, geographical, natural, and spiritual reference points. The myth of autonomy teaches us to believe that the accidents of birth, family, neighborhood, polity, and church are not life-giving sources of identity and connection but rather forms of oppression that we must transcend and overcome.
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