stjohn_piano 2021-02-11 no [Subject: Coronavirus lockdowns] StJohn Piano: Friendly social contact is a component of good health. As I've gotten older, I've come to think of the ideologies of "Western individualism" / libertarianism (at least in their purist forms) as .... autistic. Nice theory, but humans don't actually work that way. In the past, there were lots of "unprincipled exceptions" to these ideologies, imposed by circumstances (you had to form groups to get stuff done). But now.... we can actually isolate ourselves almost competely, or at least many of us can. We've been able to take some aspects of Western individualism waaaay too far for comfort (and health). I should really say "Anglo individualism" because Continentals don't worship the idea of being a free & separate individual anywhere near as much as Anglos do.