10 June

Today a person will often look for the feeling of connection from a relationship that they used to get from wider social institutions - the family, church, the community, etc. So relationships are doing a lot of heavy lifting. It seems part of the push to individualise everything, at the same time we vote for governments who shift the burden of maintaining public life away from social institutions and onto individuals. They're very explicit about that, the deep belief they have is that institutions inhibit individual freedom. And yet individuals are anxious, financially stressed, unhappy at work and finding life lacking in meaning. It's hard work trying to be everything yourself.