This democratic process has been both a result of and a catalyst for exclusive humanism. Both of these constructs, democracy and exclusive humanism, have been augmented by the induction of the public sphere into society. Some of the credit for secularization can even be attributed to this public sphere. This is a very amorphous concept and entity, which makes it somewhat difficult to define; but essentially, it is the common opinion, the collective thought of society. What made this public sphere significant was that it was an authority on matters which was outside of either church or state. Nowadays, this seems to be the only opinion for which most people care. Religious authority still exists, but it is not usually taken seriously by most people. Governmental authority, on the other hand, is usually seen as restrictive or chafing. This government “of the people, by the people, for the people” resulted in people deciding things for themselves. It was inevitable as a result of exclusive humanism. Once all humans are valuable for themselves, what they have to say must then be seen as valuable, especially if a lot of people are saying the same thing. Beliefs, ideas, and opinions spread through writing and conversation and begin to be determining factors in beliefs, ideas, and opinions.
The internet has only increased this trend. That is largely where the public sphere exists today. It is essentially a database of knowledge independent of any central authority. Anyone can put things online saying whatever they want. The blog culture is built around people saying what they think about music, movies, news, religion, the world in general. Everyone gets to proclaim their own truth.
Our society has become focused on the individual. Inherent human worth taken to its fullest extreme leads to a heightened sense of self-worth (of course, a lot can be said about the very terminology behind the “self,” but that is another issue). Humans live with a self-focus and society is made to cater to the individual. It is all over the marketing campaigns in our society. The customer is always right. Think of the slogan: “Have it your way.” Burgers must be made fresh just the way the patron wants it. Think of the auto industry. One of the major failings of the Big Three auto makers in Detroit has been their lack of standardization. Most new American cars come with a variety of options that can be personalized for the individual, but the cost to manufacture so many different options has negated any revenue made by people being persuaded by these options. Meanwhile, automakers in the far less Westernized Japan are profiting immensely because of standardization. They even build chassis that work for multiple different models, thus lowering their production costs. And now Detroit is falling apart.
This trend has manifested itself negatively in other facets of society as well. It is quite interesting to see how exclusive humanism has manifested itself in the American dream. This dream so often involves its own sort of independence. The self-reliance championed by the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson has ingrained itself into the Western worldview (I am rather critical of Emerson's essay on self-reliance, and I once wrote a poem expressing my disillusionment with this specific concept). There is almost a pseudo-Romantic idea when it comes to achieving success “on your own.” However, for anyone who fails to reach a sufficient level of attainment, there is nothing but shame and depression to be had. When independence is viewed as one of the highest morals, needing any form of assistance is seen as weakness. Such ideas also create an aversion to trust and intimacy, which tend to create reliance. This becomes a problem because humans are intensely relational, and limiting trust and intimacy will inevitably create hollow relationships or prevent them from developing at all. What we have as a result contributes to the anomie proposed Durkheim. It creates a sense of vacancy of meaning or emptiness, which are often associated with depression. With these and other problems, I think our society has spent more than enough time focusing on the individual.
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