Key facts
- Modern society prioritizes personal happiness and desires over a sense of duty.
- Historical progress was driven by duty and sacrifice, not self-fulfillment.
- High divorce rates and materialism are symptoms of a lost sense of duty.
- The American Dream has shifted from security and hard work to visible consumption.
- Structural issues like unaffordable healthcare and housing contribute to this shift.
An essayist argues that contemporary society, particularly among the wealthy in America, has lost its sense of duty, prioritizing personal happiness and desires over societal obligations. Lisa Britton, writing on Substack, contends that this shift has eroded the foundational bonds of family, community, and collective progress.
Britton contrasts the current era with past generations, suggesting that historical progress was fueled by a deep-seated sense of duty and sacrifice for something larger than individual desires. She points to rising divorce rates, increased materialism, and a transactional approach to family and community as evidence of this decline. While acknowledging the need for modern freedoms and individual expression, Britton asserts that both men and women have a crucial role in upholding a sense of duty, which involves sacrifice.
In a related analysis, Maria Alonso, a marketing strategist, observes that the American Dream has been redefined. It has moved from a promise of security and opportunity through hard work to a measure of success based on ownership and consumption. Alonso identifies two interconnected problems: structural economic challenges such as unaffordable healthcare, childcare, and housing, and a cultural shift that equates visible spending with prosperity. She notes that while marketing did not create these affordability issues, it has shaped the perception of success by selling aspirational stories tied to purchasing power, leading individuals to mistake spending for genuine progress.