.Typically, these resources can only be cultivated or extracted by those who own the land (or have traditional rights to a specific fishing ground, region of a forest or mine-site). This ownership is passed down through one’s extended family. It is not easy in such a setting to readily shift one’s identity. One is born into a family of farmers. One is expected to till the soil as one’s father, mother and ancestors have done for many generations. The same holds true for those who fish, cut down trees, enter the mines, run a bakery, or serve as military officers or government officials.
A modern society tends, in a similar manner, to rely on industrial production. Substantial capital (money) is required to purchase the heavy equipment that is needed for mass production. This type of money is not easily raised by someone who has not inherited wealth. It is also rarely available to people who can rely neither on family expertise or reputation nor contacts in the financial community. The modern world was (and still is) not the place to explore new roles and identities (despite the myths of self-made millionaires and Horatio Algers).
It is only in emerging postmodern societies that a much greater range of roles and identities can be explored—the digital revolution has made it possible for new enterprises to be established with much less capital. Furthermore, a wide array of occupations and professions are now available—most of which had not even been invented when our parents were establishing their own identity as members of a premodern or modern society. Thus, individualism is likely to thrive in the postmodern world of the 21st Century and to recreate itself in new ways that may be just as alienating and challenging as the individualism of the Protestant Ethic or withdrawal of the private self in 18th Century Europe.
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[i]Orwell, George, “On Shooting an Elephant,” In Bennis, Warren G and Associates (Eds), Interpersonal Dynamics: Essays and Readings on Human Interaction, Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press, 1968, pp. 267-273.
[ii] Weber, Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1958.
[iii] Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs and Steel. New York: Norton, 1997.
[iv] Bergquist, William. The Postmodern Organization. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.
