Age of Anxiety

We live in an age of ever-deepening anxiety. Free of convictions, released from certainties, we appear untethered—and alone. The values that underpinned our sense of, and need for, collectivity have been reduced to their lowest common denominator: liberty means nothing more than exploiting our individuality; equality has become an empty political slogan; as for solidarity, it’s nowhere to be seen.

Such ruptures are neither accidental nor benign. The not-so-brave new social mandates are outg...