Our age is an extremely individualistic one. This may sound wrong to the observer who sees collectivism on the rise, but collectivism and individualism are not opposites, as philosophers Alexis de Tocqueville and Hannah Arendt explained — they are two sides of the same coin.

The less you trust and depend on your fellow man, including your family, the more you rely on the government. And the more intrusive the government, the less room there is for family and community.