When a society advances to the later stages of modernity and people become less controlled by shame, more people also begin to strive for “self-actualization” to a greater extent (as we’ve see in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs). The question then presents itself within society: Who will get to be truly unique and expressive, and who will be left with a bland, “mainstream” existence within the frames of the conventional economy? In other words, because life in these societies is “all about” self-actualization, this—rather than wealth and status—becomes a touchy subject. It is increasingly on
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