Our Worst Strength: American Individualism and its Hidden Discontents

by James F. Richardson

We are all settlers on our own personal frontiers.

It’s our national way of life. Individualism. America has now taken individualism to its logical extreme like no other society on Earth. And the results are mixed. Radical autonomy without wisdom and lots of social support is a dangerous gift. It can even become a curse of self-destruction.

This book explores how individualism affects the five major domains of American life that comprise 80% of our waking time - work, fun, food, friends, and family.

Using fresh national research on older Americans' life experiences, his training as a cultural anthropologist, and his own awkward life experiences, Dr. Richardson has crafted a first-of-its-kind social history of the late 20th century and what it yielded to us as a nation.

Part One - How to Make a Hyper-Individualistic Society in Seven Easy Steps
Part Two - How It Became Awkward at Work
Part Three - How We Got Lost in the American Fun-house
Part Four - How We Came To Eat Whatever, Whenever
Part Five - How We Turned Friends into Entertainment Devices
Part Six - How We Shriveled the American Family
Part Seven - The Future of Individualism in America

Dr. Richardson argues that individualism is not an inevitable way of life. We can take our gifts of autonomy and calibrate them to a more community-oriented future. We have to truly understand what we have before we make changes we would regret as a country.

438 pages, Paperback

Published May 17, 2024

About the author

James F. Richardson is a Ph.D. holding cultural anthropologist who has studied American society for twenty years as a market research consultant. He has studied Americans in 40 different states and has lived all over the country, including New England, the Chicago-to-Madison corridor, Seattle and Tucson, Arizona. For nearly three years in the late 1990s, he also lived in South India studying a very different society than our own. Today, he lives with his wife, children, and dogs in sunny Tucson, Arizona where he writes nonfiction and consults with a national client base.

Reviews

[Nathalie Martinek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our Worst Strength is an outstanding book detailing the price American society is paying for the benefits of individualism.

Richardson has masterfully dissected the ingredients of American individualism drawing on field research, personal stories, quantitative data and observations with academic rigour and intriguing storytelling to illustrate the shifts in freedoms and practices over a few generations.

You will be taken on an enjoyable journey to learn about how changes in the name of progress, convenience and comfort have slowly made a population more anxious as individuals navigate an increasing amount of choice without the regulations and restrictions, social mores, community accountability, values and norms that once existed.

What’s striking is the author’s openness and self-awareness about navigating individualistic, communal and traditional cultures as a person with Asperger's presented with objectivity. He allows the reader to glimpse into his reality with curiosity prompting us to reflect on our own experience of individualism and what has been sacrificed for it.

It is also refreshing that the author does not try to convince readers that individualism is good or bad for Americans. He paints a picture of the shifts in values and behaviours over time and their impact on individual and collective wellbeing. He makes explicit the hidden dynamics, codes and unspoken rules that influence and direct the different societies featured in the book, helping readers to make sense of their own. While many symptoms of individualism manifest from a deficit in long term nourishing, reciprocal relationships, he challenges us to consider actions that will improve social cohesion and community connection.

This book is an insightful, accessible and enjoyable read that is both a cautionary tale and hopeful vision for American society beyond individualism. This book will delight those who love great storytelling with data, history with anthropology and sociology, and a laid back narrator with a gift for helping us see our lives and the society we live in with greater clarity.

I highly recommend reading this book!

[Ell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m an avid reader. I read 100+ books each year. Every few years I come across a book that stands out from the others. This is THAT book. Our Worst Strength, by James F. Richardson offers a penetrating exploration of the complexities surrounding hyper-individualistic societies. With meticulous research and insightful analysis, the book delves into the paradoxical nature of individualism, shedding light on its profound impact on contemporary American society.

Drawing on a rich tapestry of sociological research, cultural anthropological studies, and real-life examples, the author deftly navigates the intricate dynamics at play in our hyper-individualistic culture. Through compelling anecdotes and thought-provoking observations, Richardson reveals the ways in which the relentless pursuit of individualism can paradoxically become our worst strength as a society.

What sets this book apart is its commitment to balance. While acknowledging the benefits of individualism, the author refuses to shy away from its darker implications. By offering a fresh perspective on the complexities of hyper-individualism, the author invites readers to reconsider their assumptions on what is currently considered “normal” in our society, along with the repercussions of this “normal” state of being.

The book itself is a delight to read. Accessible yet intellectually stimulating, the author guides readers through complex ideas without sacrificing depth or clarity.

This isn’t a book you’ll read in one sitting. It isn’t meant to be. Our Worst Strength is a tour de force. Insightful, well-researched, and endlessly fascinating, this book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand American behavior in the twenty-first century.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really excellent read. I'm planning on writing an in-depth review of this book some time in the next few weeks (helping out smaller author's with more exposure is always something I always love to do).

The thesis of this book is simple: American (and to a lesser extent European) obsession with individualism is a public health disaster. Without strong communities to care for their own members, things like the addiction and obesity crisis can easily go off the rails. We have fewer real friends, and thus, many of our emotional problems are dumped on our spouses, one potential leading to higher rates of divorce. The mentorship system that worked so well in the Middle Ages and in Academia in the middle of the 20th century has disappeared, leaving us with profit-seeking educational organizations that don't care about our career satisfaction, and depression and burnout from jobs we hate. Worst of all, our obsession with privacy makes all of this difficult to change. I had an extremely frustrating experience with a girl I once dated trying to communicate to her that her obsession and worship of privacy was making it difficult for her to properly care for her physic health.

I unfortunately do not share the author's optimism that this is going to get better. The internet has made individualized entertainment even more appealing, lifestyle divergence has become ever more normalized, and political polarization over extremely superficial topics (IMO) has made community-building ever more difficult.

One thing that rubbed me the wrong way was the constant hinting at white men being especially bad/culpable for these trends, when the survey data indicated the complete opposite. Just felt a bit unproductive to me.

[Marianne Pestana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our Worst Strength is a powerful and thought-provoking exploration of how American individualism has quietly reshaped nearly every aspect of daily life, from relationships and work to health, food, and community. Dr. James Richardson blends cultural insight, research, and personal observation into a compelling narrative that challenges deeply held assumptions about freedom and success. With clarity and wit, the book exposes the hidden emotional and social costs of autonomy, lifestyle choice, and materialism. It shows how the very ideals celebrated in modern America can often lead to isolation, anxiety, and disconnection, especially when there are no strong communal or cultural anchors to balance them.Far from being a criticism of progress, Our Worst Strength is a nuanced, culturally vital call to reexamine the values that shape the nation. It offers a framework for reflection and connection in an age of increasing fragmentation.

[Sharon Cortelyou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richardson gives us a view into our most treasured American trait and reminds us that there is a cost. He says that defining our own life on our terms is now a thing we admire without question. In the 50 years since 1920, there has been a huge increase in possible lifestyles. I don’t think any of us would want to lose our choices but at the same time, it can be and often is overwhelming. Stoking excessive choice has been the engine of our consumer capitalist society. But often, individualism and choice lead to anxiety. Freedom and privacy are the things we value above community.

The book gives so many great examples and as anthropologist, he is able to contrast our American approach to life with other cultures. I have followed his Substack for some time and his book really ties it all together, giving a much needed perspective on something so treasured by most of us.

[alpiffero · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought it after months following the author's newsletter on Substack (https://jamesrichardson.substack.com/), I expected a clever and enlightening book and I found just that. The prose is deliciously dry and on point (sounds like a Pragmatist, to me the best in American intellectual milieu), arguments are witty and well substantiated, and I grealy appreciated how the author sees hope in Gen Z's emerging mentality and in the inevitable slowdown of general economy — which made me think of Slowdown by Danny Dorling, one of the best essays I've read in recent years. I might be biased since I agree very much — I generally like Gen Z, save from some moralistic tendencies which might well be due to their young age — but still. Strongly recommended.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

What systemic virtues and failings influence us

This is a great book for anyone interested in sociology, anthropology, and taking a wide view of how current American values have changed, and how those changes impact our values.
The author has a unique perspective including a strong academic background, and a field study in India. He has Aspergers, which makes him really engaging with this sort of material: there's no quiet part, it's all said out loud. Different rules and values govern different societies and it's all fascinating, and it's fun learning the rules that govern our own.

[Best Indie Book Award · Rating 5 out of 5]

2024 BIBA Winner!