“Independence is a heady draft" claimed Maya Angelou. We view independence as a virtue, one that we crave for ourselves and admire in others. But is our pursuit of independence a mistake? In the US in the last fifty years, the number living alone has doubled, but we aren't happier for it. A recent study found those living alone had an 80% higher chance of being depressed.
So how do we rescue our culture from this grave danger? Should we place community at the heart of our thinking, and take heed from other cultures who embrace a more connected form of intergenerational living? Or could we accept the death of tribal family structures altogether, and embrace the new wave of co-living communes outside the family unit, OR do the stats mislead us, and fail to capture just how stifling and oppressive communal life can be?