One polarity that is evident now is where and when to be individuals and when to think of the species. Religion had been the glue that kept tribal loyalty and allowed us to sacrifice ourselves for the species, or at least our tribe. Though we now have left the superstition of religion behind we are still struggling to find a replacement. Currently we are beholden to the cult of the individual.
I have taken small steps in altering my working practice away from individuality and more in to the familial knowledge of craft and design to please others, not to please myself. Nelson planted trees to make future British ship fleets, he failed to guess technology would have moved on by now. The trees could now be harvested but sodden vessels no use. Still it is hard to think of examples of that kind of forward thinking taking place now. Mostly we plan no further than our own lives. Those who do are often guilty of following Dawkins in to over valuing the importance of furthering their own genetic lineage at the expense of the common good. People who have strong social values in their youth can separate off into nuclear families, closing themselves off to community, choosing private education and other exclusivity for their offspring. Social mobility is advanced by all mainstream political parties offering escape from ones background community rather than any attempt to improve the original environment. Ultimately there are only limited places at the upper material table and many could never get a seat. Evolutionary debates are currently taking place over whether the singular unit or the colony should be seen as central. The previous four decades of focus on genes may be missing something. The swarm may deserve a decade or twos attention as focus on the bee may have left the hive in a sorry state.
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