The Seven Deadly Sins of Individualism

Individualism built freedom and ambition — but without shared obligation it also breeds the exact vices we claim to hate.

I was thinking about the seven deadly sins: pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth

juxtaposed with the beatitudes: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Just looking at these attributes and behaviors and reflecting on what I’m seeing going on in the United States, it really feels like so much of America has lost its way, and I’m not even referring to the religious aspect of this. Strictly from a moral perspective, the very fabric in America is off. So many downstream effects of the seven deadly sins are praised or the negatives are ignored, while people that exhibit the beatitudes are seen as weak and should just be steamrolled in society.

I can already imagine a handful of the explanations that some people will want to make to explain this outcome:

• The US has become Godless (we have plenty of atrocities throughout past to question if we were ever a “God fearing country”)
• We’re no longer a Christian nation (we have no formal religion)
• It’s the evil __ causing everyone to lose their morality (if you are wanting to point the finger at a specific group, I would suggest you do some reflection on these concepts and try to understand other people’s position more)

Personally, I don’t think it is any one thing and just a culmination of all the structures we have put in place. This isn’t specifically a knock on capitalism or our country, but our specific form of capitalism mixed with some theoretical things our country was founded on and uses as guiding principles that can be summed up in one word:

Individualism

This, on its surface, is very empowering conceptually. Each person is empowered to do what they think is best and can do with their life as they choose. If you think it is important to work in a certain field, do it. If you think it is important to give money to church or charity, do it. If you think it is important to do X, do it. Then we trust that the government and laws of the land will help protect the individuals from direct harm by others to keep society from devolving into chaos.

However, as we look at the fabric of American society, I just see these growing embodiments of the seven deadly sins. Pride — We preach driving forward to be successful as one of the main ways to derive purpose and value in life with little regard or consideration for downstream effects of that mission. Greed — Wealth inequality, consumerism, constant need for more and more. Wrath — Go to any comment section on any political post or even go to a bar or family gathering and just listen or read how people respond. The number of times I have heard someone say, “I wish someone would cause I would love to [insert violent phrase here],” feels like a very wrath based sentiment. Envy — Social media, keeping up with the Joneses, celebrity culture etc. So much of marketing and our energy is driven from this Lust — Dating culture, marriage stats, Epstein files, media, etc. This is everywhere at all times. Gluttony — We are the heaviest large nation and almost any foreigner that comes here comments on the absurd portions that we consume. Sloth — We watch on average the most tv per day, near the top for gaming per day, and it is not uncommon to hear people talk highly about getting away with not doing much work at work.

All of these features are not unique to America and I am not going to try to walk through the entire “proof” of how I tie these all back to extreme individualism in this post, but I think if you start with this premise and then try to prove it out, you can probably do it. I will however, give a few ideas that seem to support this that can be used in that thought experiment.

How many times have you heard the phrases:

• It’s ok, you’ll never see them again.
• “You don’t owe anyone anything.”
• “Protect your peace.”
• “I have to do what’s best for me.”

There are very few collectivist thoughts and sentiments that really permeate the fabric of society. They are more little nudges framed as, “well, if you really wanttttt to give up some part of your time, money, or happiness, you can sacrifice that to maybe do some elsewhere.” Charity — Well, do you even know how much money is going to the right place? Also, the tax deductions are nice, but also ways to just evade taxes and funnel money to yourself if you’re rich enough. Volunteering — Do you really want to do that instead of getting mimosas on your 1 day off? Choose a selfless career — Almost all of these are short on people these days due to low pay and poor work conditions.

We do not glorify or incentivize selfless or collectivism in any way. When I say collectivism, please don’t read socialism. One of the things that I appreciated the most about my time living in Korea was the more collectivist approach that was built into the fabric of the society. As I talked with people and tried to adapt and fit in, I appreciated my friends I made there helping me know when I made a social faux pas where it seemed like I was disregarding someone else and not being considerate.

For fun, I’m going to introduce a handful of concepts that I learned while I was over there:

• Jeong (정) — is a fundamental Korean concept representing a deep, often unspoken emotional bond, affection, and attachment that develops over time between people, or even towards objects and places.
• Nunchi (눈치) — art of gauging others’ emotions and reading a room through subtle, non-verbal cues to maintain social harmony.
• Honorifics (높임말) — a system of linguistic politeness showing respect based on age, status, and relationship.
• Hoesik (회식) — a deeply rooted South Korean corporate subculture involving after-work gatherings where colleagues eat, drink, and socialize to build team solidarity.

There are a lot more examples, and there are certainly trade offs in terms of exchanging individuality for conformity, but learning about different ways of looking at social interactions and society was eye opening. Of course we understand selflessness and compassion and consideration in America, and have some examples within our society, but it isn’t built into the fabric of our culture the same way. To me, these collectivist concepts embody the beatitudes much more closely. I believe loving others means putting others within your circle of consideration.

Ultimately, I think having a balance between individualism and collectivism is good, and on the spectrum that exists between the two, there will always be an ebb and flow based on any specific circumstance. I just feel that in America, the pendulum is very far on the individualism side and we would do well to swing it a bit the other way.

So, as a challenge: Try to do 1 selfless act every day. Go out of your way to help someone. Do that thing that you don’t really want to do but someone else will appreciate. Even though it is cold, hold that door open for 2 seconds longer so that the other person hurrying inside can get in.