When people say the United States is an atomized society, what does that mean?
When people say the United States is an atomized society, what does that mean?
And what's an example of a non-atomized society?
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It means you, alone, are expected to deal with all of your problems yourself, and there is not a community of people for you to fall back on in times of need. This atomization is socially and economically enforced. Unions busted, land trusts dissolved, public transport dismantled, public health denied again and again despite popular support. It means when you run out of money you get thrown onto the street with all the other non-persons.
and there is not a community of people for you to fall back on in times of need.
Doesn't family fit this role for many people?
those are smaller & fractured by economic factors as well
Ok yeah that makes sense
If they're lucky. If they haven't been disowned for being LGBT or if they didn't get stuck with shitty parents.
One can imagine a family being larger than parents and siblings. Parents friends being like "uncles" or something is like a shitty version of this, but one could imagine a community being a hundred or so people, taking care of each other's kids, talking and updating each other daily, lending sugar etc...
Most people do not have this, even with a big modern family.