A Collectivist Approach to Flourishing in Old Age
Jordan DeVeaux, Duke University
Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology, Carl Jung, once said that “a human being would certainly not grow to be seventy or eighty years old if this longevity had no meaning for the species. The afternoon of human life must also have a significance for the species. The afternoon of human life must also have a significance of its own and cannot be merely a pitiful appendage to life’s morning.” According to this line of thinking, the way to prevent aging from simply being a graying of hair or weathering of skin, is finding meaning. To many, meaning is found in community and the maintenance of community.
Dutch social psychologist, Geert Hofstede, outlined individualism as one of his six dimensions of comparing nations around the world. Individualism is a barrier to community, thus a barrier to meaningful aging. Hofstede was not the first to evaluate social groups by their orientation to self or community. In the creation story found in Genesis, the first documented sin or wrongdoing in human history was for a human being to be alone. In the pages that follow, readers will find a cross cultural analysis of how aging populations vary based on their society’s capacity for collectivism in their approach to care for older adults. In this body of research, the aim is to, not only identify individualism as an unfortunate byproduct of the flawed human condition, but a parent organism limiting the healthcare industry’s ability to function and promote human flourishing. This will be accomplished by conducting a close survey of both quantitative and qualitative data gathered through gerontological studies across the globe. In short, is collectivism or a sincere prioritization of community and social support the solution to the afternoon of life many of us quietly dread?
Dutch social psychologist, Geert Hofstede, outlined individualism as one of his six dimensions of comparing nations around the world. Individualism is a barrier to community, thus a barrier to meaningful aging. Hofstede was not the first to evaluate social groups by their orientation to self or community. In the creation story found in Genesis, the first documented sin or wrongdoing in human history was for a human being to be alone. In the pages that follow, readers will find a cross cultural analysis of how aging populations vary based on their society’s capacity for collectivism in their approach to care for older adults. In this body of research, the aim is to, not only identify individualism as an unfortunate byproduct of the flawed human condition, but a parent organism limiting the healthcare industry’s ability to function and promote human flourishing. This will be accomplished by conducting a close survey of both quantitative and qualitative data gathered through gerontological studies across the globe. In short, is collectivism or a sincere prioritization of community and social support the solution to the afternoon of life many of us quietly dread?