What's Wrong With Society? Part 4B. The Autonomous Individual This dominant ideology is corrosive to us as individuals and society. We’re entangled in it, some more than others. Rowe continues. “that the story of the autonomous individual cannot fund life together. It will break down and eventually fail, and the lives we've hoped to live together will come apart.” How does this play out in society? “Lawyers have a central place in the story of the autonomous individual precisely because they must exist to enforce the contracts that we agree to but to which we are not truly bound.” “Law, and the force that backs it, are conceived and used as resistance to the implosion of a society that believes the story of the autonomous individual.” All of this is descriptive and helpful for making sense of the political polarization and conflict that has, is, and will continue to play out. Dive deeper by watching my discussion with Rowe below.