Abstract
In this paper I seek to accomplish two main objectives. Firstly, to review and reiterate the theory of a ‘new individualism’ which I have detailed in recent writings in social theory. My argument is that we witness today the conditions and consequences of a new individualism sweeping the globe, especially evident in the new economy of high finance, media and technology industries. I then want to ask how the theory of new individualism differs from other influential standpoints in recent social theory. For my purposes in this chapter, the conceptual points of comparison with the theory of new individualism will be (a) the theory of ‘technologies of the self’ as elaborated by Michel Foucault and various neo-Foucauldians; and (b) the notion of ‘reflexive individualization’ outlined by Anthony Giddens. Secondly, I will discuss the wider sociological ramifications of the new individualist thesis. New individualism, I shall argue, is not merely about individuals or their psychological dispositions; rather it penetrates to the very core of core of culture and institutional life. New individualism is thus a kind of shorthand for the variety of modalities shaping, and shaped by, global social transformations. The key institutional drivers of new individualism which I shall elaborate are (a) continual reinvention, (b) instant change, (c) speed and (d) short-termism or episodicity. I conclude the chapter with a consideration of the likely future sociological consequences of live lived in the new individualist fast lane.
Keywords:
New individualism; Reflexive individualization; Self technologies; Global transformations